An Ismailia military court Sunday postponed to 24 March its ruling in a lawsuit against journalist Mohamed Sabry, who is accused of photographing military establishments in Sinai.
Mohamed Hanafy, a lawyer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said the judge informed him the ruling would be issued later, without giving a reason, which Hanafy said is within the judge’s legal rights.
Hanafy said he wondered about the relatively long time taken to consider the lawsuit, compared with other cases.
“It’s the second time to postpone the lawsuit for a whole month,” he said. “Sabry’s accusation is not a crime, nor a misdemeanor. He is legally innocent, as he didn’t publish the photos.”
Sabry, who is a member of the No to Military Trials group, said what happens in the case will affect his work, “because my camera has been kept by the Military Prosecution since 4 January, and is still not submitted to court as evidence.”
Border troops had arrested Sabry, a photojournalist who works with several news agencies and newspapers, while being in Masoura area, adjacent Rafah.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
