A Cairo court sentenced an Egyptian opposition journalist to six months in jail for libel on Saturday after he accused the high-profile journalists' union chief of embezzling funds.
Mohammed Abul Lawaya, a former staffer with Islamist newspaper Al-Shaab, was found guilty of distributing copies of 36 leaflets defaming union leader Ibrahim Nafie, who is also editor-in-chief of the government Al-Ahram paper.
Judge Samih Shalabi of the Ezbekiya Misdemeanours Court said Abul Lawaya had "deliberately insulted and defamed Ibrahim Nafie and (union secretary general) Yahya Allash without presenting any proof for his allegations."
He also fined the journalist 7,500 Egyptian pounds (around 2,000 dollars) and ordered him to pay 2,001 pounds temporary compensation to the two plaintiffs who had filed the lawsuit – CAIRO (AFP)
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