Posts Tagged ‘Egypt’
June 20th, 2012
An
Egyptian journalist has been
fined for defamation after calling for a changes to the editorial staff of Egypt’s state-run newspapers. Hanan Youssef, deputy editor-in-chief of the local newspaper Al-Messa, was fined 10,000 Egyptian pounds (US$1,654) for defaming the paper’s former editor Khaled Imam. Youssef claimed that many Egyptian news outlets included staff members who maintained links to the ruling military regime, but did not name Imam. The journalist, who has been supportive of the revolution and written critical articles about Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), has said she will appeal the sentence.
May 9th, 2012
Two
Egyptian journalists were
reportedly beaten while in military custody. Ahmed Ramadan and Islam Abu al-Ezz, of the online independent daily Al-Badil, said unidentified thugs beat them with swords while covering clashes in Cairo’s Abbasiya neighbourhood on 4 May. Shortly after the attack, the journalists were arrested and their belongings confiscated. They said they were beaten with sticks and kicked repeatedly while being held in the military prosecutor’s office.
April 26th, 2012
A Cairo court today dismissed a three-month jail sentence handed down to popular comic actor Adel Iman,
Al Ahram reports. Imam had faced jail after a case was brought against him for “defaming Islam”. He had been accused by Islamist lawyer Asran Mansour, who accused the actor of offending political figures and the religion. Imam’s lawyer
argued that the his client’s films were “certified” by by authorities.
March 22nd, 2012
A
Zimbabwe court on Monday
fined six activists 500 USD (315 GBP) each and ordered them to carry out 420 hours of community service for conspiring to commit public violence during a meeting at which they watched video footage of Egyptian mass uprisings. Harare magistrate Kudakwashe Jarabini ordered former opposition politician Munyaradzi Gwisai and five others to do community service or face a year in jail. He said that, although watching a video was not a crime, the “manner and motive” of the meeting showed bad intent, ruling that showing the footage that included “nasty scenarios” was intended to arouse hostility towards Zimbabwe’s government.
March 15th, 2012
An
Egyptian university
banned the screening of an award winning Iranian film last week. The film A Separation”was due to be screened at Cairo University on 8 March, but objections from fundamentalist university groups led to the screening permit to be revoked. The film, which has won several international awards, tackles issues relating to immigration. The fundamentalist groups who objected to the screening of the film claimed it promoted Shiasm, secularism, and al-Assad’s regime at the expense of Syria, though these are not said to be themes of the film.
March 12th, 2012
A doctor accused of carrying out forced “virginity tests” on female
Egyptian protesters has
been acquitted by a military court. Ahmed Adel was cleared after the judge found contradictions in witness statements. The case was brought by
Samira Ibrahim, who said the “tests” were carried out on female protesters who were detained during a protest in Tahrir Square in March 2011. Ibrahim
wrote on Twitter that the verdict had stained the honour of Egypt and she would carry on until she had “restored Egypt’s rights”.
March 7th, 2012
Twelve prominent
Egyptian activists, including
Wael Ghonim and presidential hopeful Bothaina Kamel,
have reportedly been referred to a military court on charges of attempting to bring down the state and inciting hatred against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Egypt’s military leaders have faced widespread criticism since they came into power after the fall of Mubarak. Activists working with the No Military Trials Campaign have been campaigning on behalf of 12,000 civilians tried and imprisoned by the military, and report that only 2,613 civilians have been released.
February 14th, 2012
An Australian journalist who was
detained in Egypt on the first anniversary of the ousting of former president Hosni Mubarak has been
freed. Cairo-based freelance writer Austin Mackell was detained alongside an American student and their Egyptian translator in the northern city of al-Mahalla al-Kubra on Saturday while covering a nationwide strike led by workers. Mackell, who
writes his own blog and has contributed to the Guardian, the Canberra Times and Russia Today, has said he was accused of
spying and inciting people to strike, an accusation he denies.
