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Egyptian court fines leading independent editor for reporting on public sector troubles

The Associated Press

CAIRO, Egypt

An Egyptian court has fined a leading independent Egyptian editor 10,000 pounds (nearly US$ 2,000) for publishing a report on labor problems inside the nation's state-owned news agency.

The left-wing daily al-Badeel, edited by Mohammed Sayyed Said, published an article last year about employee dissatisfaction inside the state-owned Middle East News Agency, prompting agency head Abdallah Hassan to file a libel suit.

The court on Thursday also ordered Said to pay an additional 5,000 pounds (nearly US$1,000) as compensation to Hassan.

For his part, Said has described the ruling against his paper as an attack on the freedom of the press.

Last week another court imposed a similar fine on Said for publishing a picture of a policeman allegedly showing him receiving a bribe.

Over the last year, Egypt's independent press has been targeted by a flurry of law suits raised by individuals, but often at the behest of the government.

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