JURIST - Paper Chase: Slander trial of Egypt journalists, lawyer begins

[JURIST] The trial of three Egyptian journalists and one lawyer accused [JURIST report] of slandering a local election commission chief by alleging fraud in Egypt's November parliamentary election and publishing the names of two judges accused of rigging results in a runoff poll [JURIST report] began Sunday. If convicted, they face up to two years in prison. The four defendants were charged a week after a judicial disciplinary panel acquitted one judge of whistleblowing and censured the second [JURIST report] for saying that fellow judges had conspired with a local election official to change the election results.

The defendants are executive editor of Sawt el-Umma Wael el-Abrashi, Sawt el-Umma journalist Hoda Abu Bakr, Afaq Arabiya reporter Abdel Hakim Abdel Hamid, and lawyer Gama Tag el-Din. El-Din reportedly provided the three journalists with the list of judges that supervised fraud in the elections last year. The trial has been adjourned until September 16. AP has more.

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