CAIRO, 19 April 2005 — Some 300 Egyptian journalists demonstrated yesterday before the Journalists’ Syndicate against a Cairo court ruling sentencing three journalists to one year’s imprisonment for accusing Housing Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Soleiman of corruption last year.
“Where is the freedom of the press and where is the power of the word?” shouted the protesters. “How come the court supports a corrupt minister and imprisons brave journalists?” asked another group.
Alaa Al-Ghatrifi, Abdel Nasser Al-Zoheiry and Youssef Al Oumy were sentenced in absentia to prison terms and fines of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (about $1,700) each. The journalists, who worked for the new independent newspaper Al Masry Al Youm, wrote last year that the minister’s house was searched as part of a corruption-related investigation. The Egyptian Cabinet, however, issued a statement saying the report was fabricated and the minister later sued the journalists.
