VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #3555 3650851
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 310851Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7810
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS CAIRO 003555 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
NSC STAFF FOR PASCUAL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PREL PGOV PHUM EG
SUBJECT: POSSIBLE NEW RESTRICTION ON PRESS FREEDOM IN EGYPT 
 
REF: A. CAIRO 2835 
     ¶B. CAIRO 2825 
     ¶C. CAIRO 3543 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (U) According to media reports, Egypt's State Council 
issued a decree in early December directing the Central Audit 
Bureau (CAB) to begin monitoring the finances of independent 
media outlets. The decision has not yet been formally 
announced and a member of the State Council (Egypt's highest 
judicial body vis-a-vis administrative issues) commented 
publicly in recent days that it may be amended prior to 
release.  While the CAB has long monitored the finances of 
state-owned media outlets and even reviewed some editorial 
decisions, it has never played a role in the management of 
Egypt's independent press. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Some journalists view this potential decree as a 
threat to press freedom, particularly in the wake of the 
recent prosecutions and convictions of several independent 
newspaper editors (refs A and B).  Essam El Eslamboli, a 
lawyer with the law firm "United Group" has filed a lawsuit 
challenging the legality of the State Council's potential 
action.  (Note: The United Group is the recipient of a U.S. 
AID grant to provide legal assistance to journalists and 
newspapers. End note.)  Other independent journalists appear 
less concerned.  Hisham Kassem, founder of Egypt's leading 
independent newspaper Al Masry Al Youm, told us recently that 
while he did not welcome the decision and viewed it as 
interference, he did not see it as a serious threat. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In a December 12 meeting (ref C), the newly elected 
chairman of Egypt's Press Syndicate Makhram Mohamed Ahmed 
responded ambiguously to our questions about the decision. 
(Note:  Ahmed has spent his career with the Al Ahram group of 
state-controlled newspapers and is widely viewed as close to 
the government.  End note).  Ahmed initially told us that he 
thought the decision would be "ok", but later said it was a 
"bad thing."  He traced the decision to the 1996 
liberalization of Egypt's press laws in order to permit 
independent and political party sponsored newspapers.  He 
said that at the time of the liberalization, "everyone" 
understood the dangers of foreign funding, whether from Saudi 
Arabia, the U.S. or Saddam Hussein.  He noted that the recent 
decree was probably a bureaucratic decision and not 
political, but added that it might have been issued out of 
concern over alleged Muslim Brotherhood financing of press 
outlets.  He also said the decree might prevent businessman 
or politicians from paying journalists to publish negative 
articles about rivals. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Comment:  The law authorizing the CAB to review the 
finances of the independent press has been available since 
1996, but never implemented.  In light of other recent 
developments regarding the press, the potential decision to 
now implement this long dormant law is worrisome. 
 
 
Ricciardone