Egypt targets opposition press

According to an editorial published by Middle East Online, Wael El-Abrashi, executive editor of the Sawt Al-Umma newspaper and journalist Hoda Abu Bakr are likely to be the next set of political prisoners taken as part of the Egyptian President Mubarak’s anti-opposition campaign. El-Abrashi and Abu Bakr incited the government’s retribution when they published a blacklist with the initials of judges who failed to act against the ruling regime’s systematic interventions into recent parliamentary elections.

El-Abrashi urged journalists to stand steadfast in the face of official censure programs and publish the truth despite imminent penalties. Meanwhile, following the fraudulent elections, Mubarak has postponed municipal elections for two years. Despite their staunch pro-democracy rhetoric, the United States and European countries have opted to remain reticent about the El-Abrashi and Abu Bakr trials, as Sawt Al-Umma has repeatedly condemned the war in Iraq and the Israeli assaults against Lebanon.

For the full editorial, click here.