Egypt
Doctored photo brings heavy finePosted Dec 17 2008
The Egyptian government fined independent journalists Adel Hammouda and Mohammed el-Baz of the Al-Fagr newspaper $14,500 for defamation of the country's leading cleric. The two were brought up on charges after a doctored photograph surfaced of al-Azhar Sheikh, Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi. The picture showed Tatawai was depicted wearing papal garb; underneath a caption read, “The Grand Vatican Sheikh.” This picture was published after Tatawai made a controversial visit to the Vatican.
Hammouda welcomed the fine and said he would remain opposed to the Egyptian government's control over the media. The Middle East Times reports him saying, “It's really a big shame that we still have laws in Egypt that subject journalists to jail sentences.”
Hammouda and el-Baz's fine follows a string of several other libel cases against journalists and publishers in Egypt.