CAIRO: Head of the Egyptian Actors' Union Ashraf Zaki is suing union member Hisham Bahaa ElDin for libel for publishing an article on the social networking website Facebook criticizing the performance of the union board and the current union head, according to the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). "This is the first time that not only a citizen files a libel case over Facebook content, but also that an artist is doing it against his colleague. It is really pathetic to forward differences of opinion from dialogue to court, said ANHRI. In the article titled "Scandal at the Actors' Union published on Jan. 4 on Facebook, Bahaa ElDin reported alleged violations by the union's board. The first hearing in the case before the Misdemeanors Court is scheduled for April 24. This is not the first lawsuit Zaki files against Bahaa ElDin, who was running against him in the last union election. Last January, Zaki filed a lawsuit against Bahaa ElDin accusing him of fraud when the latter filed a complaint at the police claiming that Zaki insulted and threatened him over the phone to force him out of the elections. ANHRI commented on the lawsuit by saying, "this is extremely unpleasant that the head of the actors' union, one who is supposed to be defending the freedom of creativity, thought, opinion and expression, would sue a fellow union member because of differences of perception. The human rights group which operates under the slogan "Defending Freedom of Expression in the Arab World, said that Zaki shouldn't have taken the matter to court and instead should respond with an article refuting the accusations Bahaa ElDin made. "ANHRI assumes that all union members have the right to criticize and assess the performance of the board without being prosecuted, it added in the statement. "[This] will affect freedom of expression on the internet and make people reluctant to exercise their right to express their opinions, said Ramy Raoof, press officer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. Facebook has recently emerged as a platform for voicing opinions, especially after the April 6 strike in 2008. Facebook activists have been subjected to arrests, detentions and lawsuits. Last October, university student Tamer Azab was arrested for allegedly defaming advertising mogul Tarek Nour when he created a Facebook group accusing Nour of plagiarizing other commercials in promos for his TV channel Al-Qahera Wal Nas (Cairo Centric).
