Egypt drops journalist’s jail term
Appeals court overturns ruling that Al Jazeera producer harmed Egypt’s reputation.
Taha, a documentary producer, was first detained for two days in January 2007 for possessing 50 videotapes that police said contained fabricated scenes of torture by Egyptian police.
She said that the footage was a “reconstruction” for a documentary.
In May, Taha was sentenced to six months in jail after a Cairo state security court found her guilty of “harming the country’s interests” and “fabricating’ the torture scenes.
The documentary, “Beyond the Sun,” was aired on Al Jazeera in April, as Taha had kept copies of the confiscated tapes.
Human rights groups say that torture, including sexual abuse, is routinely conducted in Egyptian police stations.
The government denies that systematic torture takes place, but has investigated several officers on allegations of abuse, some of whom have been convicted and sentenced to prison.
During her last visit to Egypt in January, Taha was again briefly detained and questioned along with her crew, before being released.