Mubarak’s crackdown on free press continues

The pro-US dictator continues his crackdown on the opposition and independent press:

Reporters Without Borders today condemned a sentence of one-month’s forced labor imposed on editor of al-Wafd, Anwar Al-Hawari and Younes Darwish, the daily’s correspondent in Assiut, 380 kms south of Cairo, for “publishing false news” about fraud by two members of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).
Darwish wrote an article that appeared in March 2007 based on a meeting of the regional municipal council in Assiut, during which two lawyers, both NDP members, were accused of illegally obtaining land belonging to the ministry of Islamic affairs.
The correspondent said that he had made no judgement about the two complainants but the local court nevertheless sentenced Anwar Al-Hawari and Younes Darmish to a month of forced labor. They will remain free while awaiting the outcome of their appeal, which is due to open on 5 January 2008.
“The growing number of court cases brought against Egyptian journalists is in complete contradiction with Hosni Mubarak’s electoral programme,” the worldwide press freedom organization said. “He promised at the start of his new mandate to decriminalise press offences.”

I received also a statement from HRINFO, which you can read here.