2006年VOA标准英语-Egyptian Editor Gets Year in Jail for Insult

By Lindsay Wise
Cairo, Egypt
27 June 2006
 
The editor of one of Egypt's most popular independent newspapers was sentenced to one year in prison for insulting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.  Human rights activists² and journalists consider the court's decision as an assault on press freedoms.

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As a columnist³, outspoken⁴ journalist Ibrahim Eissa has developed a reputation as a fearless critic of the Egyptian government.  As an editor, he has built the weekly newspaper Al Dustor into one of the most daring publications in Egypt.  Its hard-hitting headlines regularly challenge taboos⁵ by directly criticizing President Hosni Mubarak, his family, and prominent government officials.

Eissa says the country's first contested presidential elections last year were accompanied by pledges of democratic reform that encouraged Egyptians like himself to push the boundaries of free speech.

He says Egyptians imagined that maybe the new atmosphere would allow them to speak freely and criticize the president. 

Eissa says this shift was especially significant because the president holds a holy position in Egypt, as though he cannot be questioned or critiqued.

But Monday, an Egyptian court found Eissa guilty on charges of insulting the president and spreading rumors⁶ that threatened public security. 

He was sentenced to a fine and a year in prison for publishing an article that reported on a lawsuit⁷ filed against Mr. Mubarak and his family.  According to the article, the lawsuit demanded that Mr. Mubarak be put on trial for wasting billions in foreign aid and mismanaging the sale of public sector⁸ assets.

The court also convicted the journalist who wrote the article and the man who filed the original lawsuit.  All three are free on bail⁹ awaiting appeal.

Egyptian human rights activist¹ Gasser Abdel Razek says he is concerned the verdict is part of a larger an attack on freedom of expression in Egypt, especially coming on the heels of the arrests and beatings of hundreds of anti-government protesters during the past few months.  He says the government may be trying to make an example of Eissa.

"Dustor has become an important part of the reform movement and it is one of the very critical papers of the regime and particularly the president and his family," Abdel Razek says. "So my estimation is that definitely the ruling is designed to reflect that Ibrahim will pay for being so critical."

For Ibrahim Eissa, the court's verdict demonstrates the need for a new press law in Egypt that would end the jailing of journalists for libel - a tactic¹⁰ he says the government often employs to silence political opposition¹¹.

He says there is nothing that protects him, or protects the newspaper or the journalist from prison.  He says he has to practice his freedom by relying on his courage, not on the law.

Mr. Mubarak promised a new press law several years ago, but the 78-year-old ruler has yet to deliver a draft.  With Eissa's trial, opposition activists fear the promise of increased press freedom will remain unfulfilled

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

4 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

5 taboos   

禁忌( taboo的名词复数 )； 忌讳； 戒律； 禁忌的事物（或行为）

参考例句：

• She was unhorsed by fences, laws and alien taboos. 她被藩蓠、法律及外来的戒律赶下了马。
• His mind was charged with taboos. 他头脑里忌讳很多。

6 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

10 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

11 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。