Case Against Saad Eddin Ibrahim Adjourned To October

Al-khalipha Criminal Court in Cairo decided Tuesday to postpone the political lawsuit brought by Thorayaa Labena, member of the ruling National Democratic Party, against Dr. Saad Addin Ibrahim to next October 28, Ikhwanweb reporter said.

 

This case was described legally as a misdemeanor of spreading false news and information, according to Article (80) Paragraph (d) of the Egyptian penal law.

Thorayaa Labena , a member of the National Democratic Party, filed  a criminal lawsuit against Dr. Saad Addin Ibrahim, in her capacity as “the chairwoman of social workers” at the end of 2007. Labena called for arresting him for five years and demanded him to give a financial compensation, claiming that he violated Article no.80 of the penal code, which stipulates the arrest of “everyone who deliberately spreads abroad: news, or information, or  false rumors about the internal conditions of the country, that weaken the financial confidence or the prestige of the country, or exercises in any way an activity that would affect the national interest of the country”, which turns the case into a primarily political case.

 The Arab Network for Human Rights Information indicated that this case brought by Thorayaa Labena against Saad Addin Ibrahim is an example of cases which are against the principles of honorable antagonism as the case file was full of defamation of Saad Eddin Ibrahim and contained words of hate. Moreover, the file confused “Development Studies”  of Ibrahim’s Ibn Khaldoun Center with the “belongingness” studies.

 

This case is considered the second case initiated by Egyptian courts against Ibrahim, along with 11 political cases filed by NDP members close to him. In one of these cases Ibrahim was sent to jail for two years, although there is no interest for any of the 11 prosecutors, which adds to the politically motivated cases against writers, journalists and activists in Egypt.

 
The Legal Support Unit of freedom of expression in the Arabic Network confirmed that it will adopt the defence of Saad Addin Ibrahim in all cases filed against him because of expressing his opinion freely, in solidarity with the freedom of opinion and expression, and confronting all the political cases to which the government turns its back in revenge from all its critics from journalists and activists.