Egypt Relaxes Censorship--Jailed Journo Released

(Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Jailed independent newspaper editor-in-chief of el-Dustour, Islam Afifi, has been set free by Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi pending the outcome of sedition charges against him, the Vancouver Sun reports.

El-Dustour is owned by the leader of the Waft party, which opposes Morsi. Afifi is accused of slandering Morsi and harming the public interest through his writings, according to the Sun article. Soon after an Egyptian court ordered Afifi bound over until his trial next month, Morsi issued a law prohibiting the jailing of journalists charged with media-related crimes.

What appears to be an easing of censorship may not be the case as Afifi can find himself back in stir if convicted of the charges in September. A Pyramid scheme of another sort, perhaps.