Monday, 18 April 2011

Hawass: Egypt antiquities chief faces jail time

News reports being carried by Al Jazeera and other agencies say Dr Zahi Hawass, Egypt's minister for antiquities, has been sentenced to a year in jail after he refused to implement a court decision in a land dispute. The court on Sunday also fined him 10,000 Egyptian pounds (more than $1,600) in damages.

The sentence will be suspended until the appeal ruling.

Dr Hawass, who has reached international acclaim as an Egyptologist, said he would appeal the ruling and told journalists had the court's decision had not targeted him "personally".

Yesterday's court ruling concerned a complaint brought against Hawass when he was Egypt's antiquities chief under Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's ousted former president. Hawass was ordered to return the land to the plaintiff, but had allegedly refused to do so.

AFP: Egypt's antiquities chief to appeal jail term

Trend News Agency: Egyptian minister of antiquities sentenced for a year in jail

New York Times: Antiquities Official Sentenced in Egypt 

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