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.
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.
The Supreme Council for Media Regulation, an independent authority, said in a statement that Al-Masry Al-Youm's editor-in-chief, Abdel-Latif el-Menawy, was ordered to delete the articles in question from the newspaper’s portal.
The newspaper was ordered to publish a “clear, explicit apology” addressed to the public over its alleged “violations.” The controversial column written by a pseudonymous “Newton” will be halted for three months. The column usually discusses a variety of topics related to politics, society and economy.
