MUBARAK INTERVENES: NO JAIL FOR JOURNALISTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 004355

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA/PD FOR FRANK FINVER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2016
TAGS: PGOV PTER KPAO KMDR OPRC UK AL AG EG
SUBJECT: MUBARAK INTERVENES: NO JAIL FOR JOURNALISTS


Classified By: DCM Stuart Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) Summary: Journalists expressed relief after
President Mubarak,s last-minute intercession with the
People,s Assembly on June 11 to strike prison sentences for
reporters who expose corruption from proposed legislation.
But the amendments to the penal code raise fines for defaming
public figures or officials beyond what most journalists can
afford. And they can still be jailed for defaming the
President. Happy not to be threatened with jail, most of our
journalist contacts still wonder why this step forward for
press freedom took extraordinary intervention by Mubarak. In
the end, the press law is neither a reform measure not a step
backward. Mubarak has fulfilled his promise to eliminate
jail sentences for journalists convicted of libel. The stiff
fines will continue to chill some reporting. End summary.

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Do Not Go to Jail
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2. (U) At midday on June 10 President Mubarak called from his
vacation in Alexandria to instruct Speaker Fathi Sourour of
the People,s Assembly to strike the controversial article
303 from the penal code amendments known as the &press law8
proposed by the cabinet. The amendments would have imposed
prison sentences on reporters who falsely accuse officials or
public figures of corruption. For the past week the
Journalist Syndicate and most editorialists had decried the
proposed legislation as the kiss of death for investigative
journalism, which in recent years has scored several
successes in exposing corrupt practices by Egyptian officials
and businessmen. On July 9, several independent papers went
on strike and all week the non-government press was full of
attacks on President Mubarak, accusing him of reneging on his
promise two years ago to eliminate jail sentences for
journalists.

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But Pay 20 to 40 Thousand Pounds
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3. (U) While dropping jail sentences, the amendments raise
fines for false or defamatory reporting to 20 to 40 thousand
Egyptian Pounds (USD 3500-7000),and shift the burden of
paying from the publication and its editor to the reporter.
Most Egyptian journalists earn less than a thousand pounds
per month and they are now debating what the legal
consequences would be if a reporter cannot pay a fine.
According to press commentaries, many of the smaller,
independent papers would fold if they assumed their
reporters, fines.

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Grudging Thanks to Mubarak, Scorn for the Assembly
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4. (SBU) Our journalist contacts say that the need for
Mubarak,s intervention to kill legislation that they claim
would have sheltered corruption is yet another sign that
institutions like the cabinet and People,s Assembly ignore
the people and cater to corrupt politicians and officials.
Some likened the President,s intercession in the press issue
to his intervention last week when he passed a schoolgirl who
was flunked for blaming Mubarak and the U.S. for Egypt,s
economic ills. The institutions are broken, they maintain,
except when it comes to making the President look good.

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Comment
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5. (C) In the final analysis, the press law is neither a
reform measure or a step backward. It serves a useful
purpose in eliminating jail sentences for journalists
convicted of libel. There is still a culture of corruption
in the press itself. Many journalists publish defamatory
articles for money. And the law will continue to hold them
accountable. But over all there will be a chill in
criticizing Mubarak and other senior officials.

RICCIARDONE