Egypt keeps gadfly Islamist newspaper off streets

CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) -- A government maneuver has kept Egypt's leading Islamist newspaper off the news stands despite a weekend court ruling that lifted a three-month ban, its deputy editor said on Tuesday.

Talaat Rumeih said the state-owned al-Ahram printing press had refused to print the bi-weekly al-Shaab, due to appear on Tuesday, on the instructions of a government press committee.

"They (al-Ahram press) told us they had a letter from the Higher Press Council rejecting our request to print the paper," he told Reuters.

An administrative court on Saturday ended the suspension of al-Shaab, long a thorn in the government's side. A government committee that regulates political party affairs had banned it in June along with the Labor Party that publishes it.

The Higher Press Council said it would not allow the paper to reappear until a court had considered a government appeal against the lifting of the ban, Rumeih said.

"This is a form of thuggery," he said, adding that the government wanted to prevent al-Shaab from appearing during parliamentary polls due to take place in October and November.

Al-Shaab, whose editor is serving a prison sentence for slandering a government minister, previously carried a weekly column by the leader of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

The Labor Party has been allied with the Brotherhood, Egypt's largest and most influential Islamist group, since 1987, giving Muslim fundamentalists a rare political outlet.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For more Middle East news, myCNN.com will bring you news from the areas and subjects you select.

See related sites about Middle East

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.