New York, May 5,
2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists joins acclaimed
Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz in calling on Arab governments
to free jailed journalists including two Egyptian reporters
detained last week while covering demonstrations in Cairo. Mahfouz,
who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for literature, launched his appeal
in an interview with the semi-official Egyptian daily Al-Ahram
on Wednesday, World Press Freedom day.
“I am calling on this day, World Press Freedom day, for the
release of all the journalists imprisoned in the Arab world
in cases related to freedom of opinion and for the need to drop
all sentences issued against journalists involved in publication
cases,” Mahfouz said.
Dozens of journalists face criminal prosecution and the threat
of imprisonment in the Arab world under repressive press laws
and penal codes that criminalize free speech. At least four
journalists are behind bars today for their journalistic work,
according to CPJ research.
Egyptian newspaper journalists Saher al Gad of Al-Geel
and Ibrahim Sahari of Al-Alam Al-Youm were detained
by security agents in Cairo last week. They were covering demonstrations
in support of two judges who were appearing before a disciplinary
committee for calling parliamentary elections in November and
December fraudulent. The reporters have been accused of “disturbing
public order,” and a state prosecutor ordered their detention
for 15 days. No formal charges have been brought.
Algerian journalist Mohamed Benchicou, publisher of the
French-language daily Le Matin, has been in prison since
June 14, 2004. He was sentenced to two years in
jail after being convicted of violating the country's currency
laws in 2003. The sentence was widely viewed as retaliation
for Le Matin's critical editorial line against
the government.
Mohamed Abbou, a freelancer, has been in jail in Tunisia
since March 1, 2005.
Abbou, a human rights lawyer, was handed a prison sentence of
three and a half years in connection with an Internet article
that allegedly “defamed the judicial process” and was “likely
to disturb public order.” Abbou wrote for a banned Tunisian
news Web site, Tunisnews, comparing torture in Tunisia's
prisons with that of Iraq's infamous Abu Ghraib. An appeals
court upheld the verdict on June 10.
“Countries such as Algeria, Egypt, and Tunisia tell the world
how free their press is, while locking up outspoken journalists,”
said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. “The international community
must take notice when these governments trample on the most
basic free press standards by putting journalists behind bars
for their work.”
Cooper added: “We call on governments to release our colleagues
imprisoned for their work and to do away with laws that restrict
press freedom and permit the jailing of journalists for their
published work.”
