Daily newspaper allowed to bring out first issue after one-month enforced delay

After a one-month delay imposed by the authorities, the first issue of the daily newspaper Al-Ghad ("Tomorrow" in Arabic) was published today by the opposition party of the same name. It had been on the verge of coming out yesterday but was blocked at the last minute by the authorities, who finally approved its appearance today. In the issue, the leader of the Al-Ghad party, Ayman Nour, who has been in prison since 21 January, said he would be a candidate in the coming presidential election. ------------------------------------------------------ 10.02.2005 New opposition daily suspended as first issue was being printed Reporters Without Borders called on the Egyptian authorities today to reverse the "arbitrary" decision taken on 8 February to block publication of a new daily newspaper called Al-Ghad ("Tomorrow" in Arabic), which was to have been brought out by a new political party of the same name. "We condemn this decision by the High Council for the Press to suspend the newspaper of the first opposition party to be authorized in the last 20 years," the press freedom organization said, arguing that the newspaper should not be made suffer because charges were brought against Dr. Ayman Nour, the party's president. Nour has been accused of "forging official documents" and has been detained. "The decision to suspend the newspaper is directly linked to political considerations and raises doubts about Egypt's desire to embark on a durable democratic process and establish structures in which the news media are allowed freedom of expression," Reporters Without Borders said. The authorities should either explain their decision to suspend Al-Ghad or allow it to publish, the organization added. Reached by telephone, Al-Ghad editor Ibrahim Issa told Reporters Without Borders he was not optimistic. "If the authorities initially gave us permission to publish, it's because they thought we would be under their control, but now that they have seen our editorial line, I don't think they will again give us permission to publish our newspaper," Issa said. The Al-Ghad party received permission to publish a newspaper on 28 December. The first issue was already in preparation at the state-owned Al-Ahram press when the High Council gave orders to stop the printing because the newspaper had been suspended. Staff at the press informed the newspaper, which has still not received any explanation from the authorities. The first issue included an article by Nour written from his cell, in which he described the sequence of events since his arrest on 29 January. Other articles called for amendments to the Egyptian constitution and criticised the method of election in Egypt. Al-Ghad's editors have little hope of being able to publish even if they are successful in the courts. As a result of a complaint brought by the agriculture ministry, the Labour Party's daily Al-Shaab is still suspended despite an appeal court decision on 23 December authorising it to resume publishing.