829 Mubarak Pardons Ibrahim Eissa

Excellent news!

CAIRO (AFP) — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday pardoned an outspoken editor sentenced to two months in jail after his newspaper published rumours on Mubarak’s health, state-run MENA news agency reported.

An appeals court’s decision last month to jail Ibrahim Eissa, editor-in-chief of the independent daily Al-Dustour, provoked widespread criticism from media activists.

MENA said that Mubarak pardoned Eissa, who despite sentencing was not imprisoned, as part of the president’s efforts to foster freedom of the press in Egypt.

Eissa welcomed the pardon but said Egypt was one of a few countries whose laws allow for reporters to be jailed.

“While I welcome this ruling, I think the issue is larger than that between one reporter and the president,” he told AFP. “The issue is that of Egyptian journalism, which suffers from an arsenal of laws that negate freedoms.” [Full Story]

It’s too bad it had to come down to a presidential pardon. It creates the impression that freedom of expression is “a gift [from] the ruler to be offered or withdrawn whenever he likes”— which is precisely contrary to President Mubarak’s avowed beliefs.

2 Comments »

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  1. So now we have to live in a country where the law is to blame and the president is the all-forgiving!

    It’s a smart move, though. Two months in prison wouldn’t have harmed Eissa much. He would have come out having paid his dept and returned on-par with the president. Not to mention the “nedali” boost. But now he’s cornered.

    Do you think he will be able to criticize Mubarak as strongly now, and be as synical about the whole ordeal?

    Comment by Alif — October 9, 2008 #

  2. Yeah, I wonder how the lawyer who brought the suit feels about the pardon? When I saw him at the trial, he was wearing THREE Mubarak 05 pins.

    I guess we’ll find out how this changes Eissa’s tone, if at all.

    Comment by The Skeptic — October 9, 2008 #

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