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Anwar Sadat's Family Suing Paper For Libel
CAIRO, Jan 24 (IslamOnline) - The family of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat took a newspaper to court for libel after the weekly publication called the former leader, who angered fellow Arabs and Egyptians by daringly declaring peace with Israel in 1977, "the greatest traitor."
The case has developed into a public controversy, now involving Egypt's current president, Hosni Mubarak, who served as Sadat's deputy during the late 1970s in historic peace talks with Israel.
Mubarak served as the air forces chief and then later as vice-president under Sadat.
A leading Mubarak aide reportedly told the al-Arabi newspaper, an organ of the opposition Nasserite Party, that its labeling of Ssdat impinged on Mubarak himself, who adopted the same policy towards Israel. Mubarak took office after Sadat and has maintained the peace treaty with Israel.
"If Sadat was a traitor, then it's only logical to assume that his deputy was a traitor too," the high-ranking official reportedly said. "This is a very bad thing to say in a country that needs stability and unity."
Farid al-Deeb, chief Sadat family lawyer, said in an interview with Egyptian television Monday that what the Nasserite weekly said about Sadat was of "grave consequences to the family of the late president."
Sadat's widow, Jihan, and their four grown children demanded $1.3 million in damages for slander, and jail terms for al-Arabi top editors Abdallah el-Sennawy and Abdel Halim Kandil. The Nasserite Party won only 3 seats of the 444-strong parliament in the November elections.
"Calling the former president a traitor is an unsubstantiated accusation that has no grounds in the Egyptian constitution," al-Deeb said. "This is libel since Sadat has done so many things for the country and for the Arab world."
Sadat is accredited for the 1973 October war victory in which Israeli troops were taken by surprise. Historians say that Egyptian troops, under Sadat's leadership, managed to push Israeli forces back into the Sinai some 16 kilometers within a few hours, shattering the myth that Israel, with U.S. backing, was impregnable.
The war, and Sadat's name, has now become legendary within the Egyptian public.
Sadat's lawyer said the former leader, assassinated at the hands of Islamist hard liners in 1981, won back the remaining occupied parts of the Sinai after a U.S.-sponsored peace agreement with Israel in 1979.
"How can a man who brought back Egypt's land both through military power and then through peace talks be called a traitor," Deeb said. "This is a defamation of Egypt's history."
Al-Arabi newspaper, which adopts the ultra-nationalistic views of late 1960s president Gamal Abdel Nasser, argues that Sadat was a public figure and is liable for public criticism in Egypt, Arab and Muslim countries. Nasser is considered a champion of Arab unity and has come to symbolize the armed struggle against Israel.
Some editors of the paper continued their position unabated by the lawsuit. "Sadat still governs," said Abdel Halim Qandil, a prominent writer with the paper.
Mohamed Assfour, who heads al-Arabi's editorial team, said: "The case will reveal the truth about Sadat and it will be a disgrace for his family."
Sadat, who ruled Egypt from 1970 to 1981 after the death of Nasser, was assassinated during a military parade celebrating the 1973 victory. Many Egyptians and fellow Arab leaders were not displeased concerning Sadat's assassination, and many even rejoiced the death of "The Pharaoh".
Iran, a country that firmly opposes talks with Israel, still celebrates his death and has named a street after Sadat's assassin, Khalid al-Islamboli. Only last week, Teheran revealed a large painting of Sadat's assassin on the same street.There was no comment from Egypt or Sadat's family.
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