Confiscating Al-Shorouk newspaper

Confiscating Al-Shorouk newspaper
Cairo 30th June 2005; the Arabic network for human rights information denounced today the general administration of publications confiscating the new issue of "Al-Shorouk" weekly newspaper after publishing an article by the chief editor criticizing the parliament president.

Abdul Fattah Ali the chief editor of the weekly publication criticized Fathi Sorour the parliament president for his filing a lawsuit against "Wael Al-Obrashi" the executive chief editor of the weekly independent publication "Sawt Al-Omah". In his article Al-Obrashi criticized the corruption of the different governmental figures in Egypt and among them Sorour’s son for what is being rumored around his sons getting many bank loans for millions of pounds with no guarantees.

Ali asked at his article at the confiscated newspaper, the parliament president to declare the reality of what is published about his sons instead of bringing Journalists to court.

This action which is against the freedom of press and expression embodied in confiscating Al-Shorouk newspaper, evokes questions around the role played by the parliament president at delaying the law which forbids journalists imprisonment at the publication lawsuits, especially while he is a member of the governing Party, and so the majority of the parliament.

Gamal Eid the executive director of HRINFO said; "When a newspaper criticizing the delay of new publication law protecting Journalists is confiscated, and when a big figure such as the parliament president seeks to punish a journalist who criticized corruption , then we are facing an anti- expression freedom authority, at least."

HRINFO asks the Egyptian government to stop violating freedom of press and expression and open investigations at the corruption accusations against the system figures sons, instead of filing lawsuits against journalists and their trials to terrify them.