Court sentences six for libel of Mubarak sons

A court yesterday sentenced two publishers and the editor-in-chief of a London-based Arabic daily to one year in prison with hard labor for libeling the sons of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The court also gave two journalists who were working on the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper the same sentence. The five were fined LE 20,000 each for allegations against Alaa and Gamal Mubarak

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A third journalist, convicted of the same charges, was sentenced to six months in jail with hard labor and fined LE 15,000.

The court set bail at LE 1,000 each for the six, pending an appeal. The six defendants went on trial in July after the Mubaraks complained to the prosecutor about allegations published in advertisement for an issue of Asharq al-Awsat's sister magazine, al-Jadida.

The article was withdrawn before distribution.