Attack on Freedom of Press in Egypt

One of the continuing areas of concern is a case against Ibrahim Essa, chief editor of the independent newspaper Al-Dostour. Essa is facing a sentence of one year in jail for running an article in which an Egyptian lawyer discussed his lawsuit against President Hosni Mubarak. Here's some more background to the case, as cited by HRInfo, an independent news agencey.

The good news is this week a court of appeals in Giza has agreed to review the case against Essa. One of the things that is interesting about his case is that the criminal charge brought against Essa and his colleagues, the one that left him with the jail term hanging over his head, was instigated not by the Mubarak government but by public citizens -- some lawyers and others -- with no direct connection to the case. It's an example of citizens themselves creating a chilling environment for free speech. Of course it's entirely possible that these "private" citizens were working at the request of government officials; nevertheless it is a reminder that some of the threats to free speech exist outside of governments.

In general, there is concern that the Mubarak government is ratching up the pressure on the media. The government controls much of the main media sources, but there is still room for independent voices to be heard. Looking at the big picturethe Essa case and a new press law indicates that as the pressure increases on those voices, more voices are pushing back. Here's a good report from the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights on the difficulties Egyptian journalists face and how some of them are managing to challenge the authorities to do their job.