VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #3272 3191548
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 151548Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7466
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS CAIRO 003272 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
NSC STAFF FOR WATERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PHUM PGOV KDEM EG
SUBJECT: ACCUSED INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER EDITOR PRESENTS 
DEFENSE 
 
REF: A. CAIRO 2825 
     ¶B. CAIRO 2936 
     ¶C. CAIRO 3133 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
1.(U) The trial of Ibrahim Eissa, editor-in-chief of the 
independent newspaper al-Dustour, continued on November 14 in 
New Cairo Court.  Eissa presented his defense to charges that 
he disturbed the peace and harmed Egypt's economic interests 
by publishing rumors in late August that President Mubarak 
was ill (reftels). We attended the trial, as did British and 
Dutch diplomats and many members of the local press corps. 
 
¶2. (U) Eisaa's attorneys called three Egyptian financial 
experts as witnesses. Saad Hagres, managing editor of al-Alem 
al-Youm, a financial newspaper, testified that Egyptian stock 
market losses in late August could not be linked to the 
rumors published in al-Dustour. He also opined, as a 
financial journalist, that it is the obligation of the press 
to publish any information, including rumors already 
circulating, that could be of interest to investors. Ahmed 
Sayed El Naggar, an analyst and writer with the al-Ahram 
Center for Strategic Studies, testified that he saw no link 
between the rumors published in al-Dustour and any decline in 
the market, and questioned whether there actually was a 
decline. The final defense witness, Mohammed El Naggar, a 
journalist and economics professor, testified that the market 
decline coincided with a general decline in global markets, 
and noted that Egypt's market is heavily influenced by 
foreign investors. At the conclusion of the defense's 
presentation, the judge set the next hearing for December 5. 
 
3.(SBU) Comment: Courtroom observers saw no surprises in the 
testimony, which was favorable to Eissa and generally 
unchallenged by the prosecution. Observers also noted that 
the judge in the case appears to be making a sincere effort 
to be fair to the defense. Nonetheless, the outcome will 
probably hinge on a higher-level political decision. After 
the hearing, a defense attorney for Eissa said that all the 
defense can do is present as strong a case as possible, 
making an adverse political decision more difficult for the 
government. 
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