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Sinai editorial lands Egyptian journalist in hot water

Cairo is investigating the writer of an pseudonymous editorial that earned his Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper a hefty fine for suggesting autonomy for the Sinai Peninsula.
An Egyptian policeman gestures from an observation tower is seen from the Israeli side of the border with Egypt's Sinai peninsula, in Israel's Negev Desert February 10, 2016. REUTERS/Amir Cohen  - GF10000303487

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.

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