Page 4 - Free Current News Today

Hisham Kassem to serve 6 months in prison, pay $650 fine for alleged slander of ex-minister; sole presidential election campaigner Ahmed al-Tantawi says phone bugged by authorities

Hisham Kassem was convicted of libel and slander against a former cabinet minister and verbally assaulting officers at a police station after he was detained, lawyer says

A court in Cairo on Saturday sentenced prominent publisher and activist Hisham Kassem, who had recently stepped up his criticism of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's rule, to six months in prison, his lawyer said. The movement has appealed for political change to address an economic crisis and said it could field a candidate in presidential elections due to be held by early 2024. Kassem was convicted of libel and slander against a former cabinet minister and verbally assaulting officers at a...

August 2023 in MENA: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Naseem Tarawnah, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

Egyptian opposition leader Hisham Kassem has begun a hunger strike while he stands trial on slander and verbal assault charges, his lawyer said on Saturday. The publisher had been charged last month with slander of a former minister, then later also charged with verbally assaulting officers at a police station after he was brought in, charges his allies say are politically motivated. The arrest of Kassem, who previously published the newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm, came after he made sharp critici...

The 64-year-old publisher and prominent activist is a founding member of the Free Current, a political alliance seeking to propose liberal alternatives to the military-controlled economic policies of the Sisi government

Leading democracy advocate and publisher Hisham Kassem is arrested in Cairo, raising concerns about the stifling of political opposition in Egypt

Earlier this week, Free Current politicians said the case against Kassem was politically driven and called for Sisi to be replaced.

Rest of World News: Egyptian opposition leader Hisham Kassem has begun a hunger strike while he stands trial on slander and verbal assault charges, his lawyer said on Sat

A new coalition of Egyptian political parties has publicly criticized the country's current government for persecuting politicians. In a news conference on Monday, a spokesmen for the coalition said the practices of the current government are a danger to Egypt's future. The Free Current coalition was formed in June this year, comprised of an array of mostly liberal opposition parties. One of its leading figures, Hashim Kassem, was detained last week following a public spat with a forme...