The following is a joint action by 40 IFEX members and partners:

Appeal of one-year jail terms given to four Egyptian editors to be heard on World Press Freedom Day

We, the undersigned 40 members and partners of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), are concerned with the ongoing court case against four editors of independent newspapers in Egypt, who face one year in jail if they are not acquitted upon appeal. The case, one of many underway against Egyptian journalists and editors, appears to be an attempt to silence them for critical remarks about the President and other members of government and the ruling party.

Last September, editors Ibrahim Issa, of the daily "Al-Dustour", Wael al-Abrashi, of the weekly "Soat al-Ommah", Adel Hamoda, of the weekly "Al-Fagr", and Abdel Halim Kandeel, former editor of the weekly "Al-Karama", each received a one-year prison sentence after they were found guilty of "publishing false information likely to disturb public order." They appealed their convictions and have been free on bail pending the outcome of the appeal.

On 5 April 2008, the Agouza Court of Appeal postponed the hearing of their appeal to 3 May - coincidentally, World Press Freedom Day - in order to receive required documents and reports.

The case started when a lawyer affiliated with the ruling National Democratic Party filed a complaint against them for allegedly defaming President Hosni Mubarak and his top aides, including his son, Gamal Mubarak. On 13 September 2007, the Agouza Misdemeanours Court in Cairo issued its decision in the case (1799/2007), sentencing each of the four editors to one year of imprisonment and a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (approx. US$3,700).

The four editors-in-chief were sentenced under Article 188 of the Egyptian Penal Code, which stipulates that anyone who "malevolently publishes false news, statements or rumours that are likely to disturb public order" will be punished by imprisonment for up to one year and a fine not exceeding 20,000 Egyptian pounds.

Ibrahim Issa is due to appear before an appeals court in Cairo on 18 May in relation to another case. He was sentenced by a misdemeanour court on 26 March to six months in prison for "publishing false information and rumours" about Mubarak's health. Issa was first indicted by the High State Security Prosecutor's Office on 5 September 2007, on allegations of "propagating false news and rumours causing a general security disturbance and harming the public interest" and "intentionally publishing false news that may harm public safety." The indictment was in connection with articles concerning the health of President Mubarak published by Issa between 28 and 30 August 2007.

Accordingly, the undersigned organisations urge the Egyptian authorities to drop all the charges and overturn the politically-motivated prison terms issued against the editors. The Egyptian state should refrain from using the Penal Code to criminalise freedom of expression and freedom of the press. The government must abide by its international obligations as a signatory of international documents related to freedom of expression, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and as outlined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We, the undersigned organisations, call upon the Egyptian government and the Egyptian judiciary to respect freedom of the press and to overturn the prison sentences against the four editors-in-chief during the appeal hearing on 3 May 2008, which coincidently is World Press Freedom Day. People across the whole world celebrate freedom of expression and freedom of the press on 3 May; it would be a shame to see Egyptian journalists taken to court or jailed for exercising their right to press freedom and free expression on this day.

Signed,

Al Haq Center for Development and Human Rights, Egypt

Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Indonesia

Arab Archives Institute (AAI), Jordan

Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo), Egypt

ARTICLE 19, United Kingdom

Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Bahrain

Barik Association Against Violence Against Women, Egypt

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), Egypt

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), Canada

Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES), Nepal

Conseil National Pour Les Libertés en Tunisie (CNLT), Tunisia

Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement, Egypt

Egyptian Association for the Support of the Democratic Development, Egypt

Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Egypt

Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), Egypt

Filastiniyat, Palestine

Forum for Development & Human Rights Dialogue, Egypt

Free Media Movement (FMM), Sri Lanka

Freedom Center for Political Rights and Democracy Support, Egypt

Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM), Greece

Habi Center for Environmental Rights, Egypt

Hisham Mubarak Law Center, Egypt

Index on Censorship, UK

Initiative for Freedom of Expression, Turkey

Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (Institute for Press and Society, IPYS), Venezuela

Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), Azerbaijan

International PEN Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC), UK

Journalists Trade Union (JuHI), Azerbaijan

Land Center for Human Rights, Egypt

Maharat Foundation, Lebanon

Media Institute, Kenya

Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Nigeria

Nadeem Center for Psychological Therapy and Rehabilitation of the Victims of Violence, Egypt

Observatoire pour la liberté de presse, d'édition et de création (OLPEC), Tunisia

One World Association for Development and Civil Society, Egypt

Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (Mada), Palestine

Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), Thailand

Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), Syria

World Association of Newspapers (WAN), France

World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC), United States

Updates the Issa (Eissa, Essa), al-Abrashi (al-Abrashy, El Abrashi), Hamoda (Hammouda), and Kandeel (Kandil) case: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/86240

For further information on the other legal case involving Issa, see: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/92030

MORE INFORMATION:

For further information, contact Sherif Azer, EOHR, 8/10 Mathaf El Manial St., 10th fl, Manial El Roda, Cairo, Egypt, tel: +20 2 2 363 6811/362 0467, fax: +20 2 2 362 1613, e-mail: sherif.azer@ifex.org and eohr@eohr.org, Internet: http://www.eohr.org