CAIRO, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- An Egyptian court sentenced a journalist to a year in prison after convicting him of slandering and insulting a former minister.
The court issued the ruling Thursday against Abdel Nasser Zahiri, while two other journalists tried on the same charges were acquitted but ordered to pay a fine of $1,750 each in compensation for the former minister of housing Mohammed Suleiman.
Zahiri and two other colleagues, Alaa al-Ghatrifi and Youssef Aoumi, published a report in daily al-Masri al-Yom in 2004 comprising information about the inspection of Suleiman's house in a corruption case in which the minister was suspected of favoritism, by granting building contracts to his son-in-law who owns a construction company.
Suleiman, who quit his ministerial post in January, denied the accusations and filed a lawsuit against the three journalists accusing them of slander and libel.
In a related development, the New-York-based Committee for Protecting Journalists called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to fulfill a promise he made two years ago to cancel prison sentences against journalists for their writings.
The committee said in a statement Thursday the Egyptian government, on the contrary, increased restrictions imposed on the press.
The Egyptian Press Syndicate said Mubarak promised journalists in February 2004 to cancel the prison sentence against journalists in Egyptian laws but has not fulfilled his promise so far.
It said Egyptian courts sentenced seven journalists to prison for their writings in the past two years.
