Egyptian journalist gets 6 months in jail for reporting Mubarak was ill

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An outspoken Egyptian tabloid news editor has been sentenced to six months in prison for reporting on the president's health problems, causing panic among foreign investors and threatening Egypt's economy in a highly publicized case, a court official said Wednesday. "The state has been put at risk," Judge Sherif Mustafa said while reading out the court verdict details. "He reported false news about the president's health which he knew were fabricated." The judge added that articles threatened the economy. "Investors withdrew their investment from the country and the stock market collapsed, costing the economy some $350 million," he said.