CAIRO — In what free expression advocates described as another blow to press freedom in Egypt, the Supreme Council for Media Regulation imposed harsh penalties April 22 on the local Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper over op-eds calling for the independence of the Sinai Peninsula.
In addition to ordering the paper’s owners to pay 250,000 Egyptian pounds (about $16,000) as a fine, the council referred the issue to the prosecutor general to investigate the intent behind the articles.
