Egypt
Coverage of court cases forbiddenPosted Dec 17 2008
The president of the criminal court in south Cairo issued a decision Nov. 16 upholding the prosecutor general's prohibition of media coverage of the trial of the alleged murderers of Lebanese artist Susan Tamim. All note-taking is forbidden, and the only public documents pertaining to the case will be the court record and the publication of any final decision.
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and the Hisham Mubarak Law Center submitted the August appeal, and ANHRI decried the decision as being motivated by political and personal reasons. The case involves a prominent Egyptian businessman who is related to the first family, according to an ANHRI press release.