CAIRO, Feb 27: A prominent Egyptian independent newspaper editor had his one-year jail sentence for insulting the president quashed on Tuesday but was fined nearly $4,000.

“There was nothing illegal in what was written in Al-Destour, and this verdict is still against the freedom of journalism and expression in Egypt,” Ibrahim Eissa said.

He had originally been sentenced to one year in prison for carrying a story about a court case against President Hosni Mubarak in his weekly Destour newspaper.

The judge in Tuesday’s appeal threw out the jail term but maintained the fine.

“There is a state of madness against freedom of expression and opinion in Egypt,” Mr Eissa said shortly before the court case, charging that the government, often through third party law suits, hounded journalists in the country.

The original suit against Mr Eissa was filed by a private citizen on behalf of the president and, in contrast to the notoriously relaxed pace of Egyptian justice, that case was concluded almost immediately.

“The case went in front of the court on a Monday and two weeks later I was sentenced to a year in prison,” recalled Eissa. “It was maybe one of the fastest court cases ever witnessed in Egypt.” He added that Tuesday’s verdict was also dangerous since it confirmed this practice of proxy lawsuits.Mr Eissa, long known for his confrontational style and repeated criticism of the government since the mid-1990s, has dozens of lawsuits filed against him.

He noted that his case takes place in an environment of bloggers being prosecuted and opposition leaders in prison.

“This comes at the same time that the western pressure on the Egyptian regime is disappearing,” he said, crediting US pressure after attacks on the United States in 2001 for allowing a brief opening in the Egyptian press scene.

“The Egyptian regime is now trying to change the constitution to open the door to the candidacy of Gamal Mubarak and that’s why it is trying to destroy any pockets of opposition,” he added, referring to the president’s son.

Last Thursday, an Egyptian court sentenced Karim Amer to four years in prison for insulting Islam and the president on an internet site, while opposition politicians like Ayman Nur and Talaat Sadat have also been jailed.—AFP