Document - L'Égypte célèbre la Journée mondiale de la liberté de la presse en condamnant une journaliste

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Public Statement

AI Index: MDE 12/017/2007 (Public)

News Service No: 088

2 May 2007

Egypt marks world press freedom day with new sentence against journalist

Amnesty International condemns the six-month prison sentence handed down today by an Egyptian court to Huweida Taha, an al-Jazeera producer, for her production of a documentary on torture and other ill-treatment by Egyptian police in Egypt. Her sentence comes a day before the world is about to mark the international press freedom day.

Huweida Taha was sentenced "for carrying out activities with the aim of damaging the country's national interests and producing and possessing fabricated video material that would damage Egypt's reputation, with intent to broadcast it."

The press in Egypt has been facing increased repression by the authorities who, through cases against Huweida Taha and others, seem to be sending a chilling message, in particular to all those who dare to report on human rights violations in the country in an attempt to silence them.

Huweida Taha's sentence follows the arrest of TV journalist and blogger Abdel Moneim Mahmoud who is being detained solely because of his role in denouncing and publicizing torture and other human rights violations in Egypt.