Former housing minister withdraws defamation complaint against journalists

Reporters Without Borders notes the decision of the former housing minister, Mohamed Soliman to withdraw 37 defamation complaints that he had lodged against journalists. This gesture is the result of mediation, undertaken by the information minister and the press council between the housing minister and President of the Egyptian Journalists' Union, Galal Aref, representing the journalists named in the cases. In a joint statement with the journalists' union, issued on 3 March 2006, Mohammad Soliman said he was dropping all the complaints he had lodged before the courts and the prosecutor general. He also stressed his “respect for President Hosni Mubarak's initiative to abolish prison sentences in cases involving the press”. Abdel Nasser al-Zuhairy, a journalist on the independent daily al-Masri Al Yom had been sentenced to one year in prison on 23 February 2006 on the basis of a defamation suit lodged by the former housing minister. This sentence had prompted an outcry among Egyptian journalists who rallied on 3 March 2006, at the headquarters of the press union to support their colleague and to remind President Mubarak that he promised to counter press freedom violations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.11.2005 Open letter to minister who has brought nearly 30 libel actions against journalists Reporters Without Borders wrote to housing minister Mohamed Ibrahim Soliman today, on the eve of legislative elections in Egypt, asking him to stop harassing the press. Since joining the government in 1993, he has brought 29 libel actions against journalists. Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Soliman
Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities
1 Ismail Abaza St.
Off Kasr El Aini
Cairo, Egypt
Paris, 2 November 2005 Dear Minister, You have brought 29 libel actions against journalists since joining the government in 1993, five of them in the last four years. Fourteen of the actions were brought against Adel Hammoda, the editor of the independent weekly Sout Al-Ummah, and five against Mahamad Saad Khattab, a journalist who writes for his newspaper. You have also sued four other members of this newspaper's staff: Manal Lashin, Mohamed Abdul-Latif, Mohamed Al-Baz and Ibrahim Darwish. As a result of your complaints, three journalists with the daily Al-Masri Al Youm, Abdel-Nasser Al-Zohairi, Yousef Al-Oumi and Ala'a El-Ghatrifi, were sentenced to a year in prison and a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (1,450 euros). Reporters Without Borders believes that, as a public figure, you should be tolerant of press criticism, no matter how scathing. By systematically bringing libel actions against journalists, you not only harm you own image but you also damage Egypt's reputation. We call on you to be more discerning in future and to let journalists work freely. We trust you will give this matter your careful consideration. Sincerely, Robert Ménard
Secretary-General