Essa was indicted by the High State Security Prosecutor’s Office on 5/9/2007 on allegations of "Propagating false news and rumors causing general security disturbance and harming public interest" and "Intentionally publishing false news that may hurt public safety." The case dates back articles published by Essa concerning the health of Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak between the 28th- 30th of August, 2006. .
FIDH and EOHR, while giving due respect to the Egyptian judiciary, state that criminal defamation pose an eminent threat to freedom of expression. This threat is constantly present in Egypt: 11 journalists have been sentenced to prison, 5 of which are editors in chief of independent or partisan newspapers.
FIDH and EOHR call for the abolishment of all criminal defamation laws and for their replacement as necessary with appropriate civil defamation laws.
Contacts:
Hafez Abu Saeda, Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights: +20 12 2188309
Stéphanie David, FIDH Cairo: +20 10 0578 111