Egyptian court reverses reporter ruling

An Egyptian appeals court on Monday overturned a ruling that an Al-Jazeera journalist tarnished the country's reputation by running a report on police torture, a judicial official and the journalist's lawyer said.

However, the court upheld Howaida Taha's conviction that she fabricated videotapes used in the documentary. While Taha was spared a six-month prison sentence, the court maintained the $3,600 fine imposed on her, said the judicial official on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Taha, a documentary producer for the pan-Arab satellite station, was detained in January 2007 for two days for possessing 50 video tapes that police alleged contained fabricated scenes of torture by Egyptian police.

She said at the time that the footage was a "reconstruction" for a documentary.

A Cairo state security court found her guilty of harming the country's interests and fabricating the torture scenes before sentencing her to six months in jail in May.

Taha's lawyer, Ahmed Helmi, said he planned to take the case to the country's highest court, the Court of Cassation, in an attempt to clear her of all the charges.

"For now, we will pay the fine but the conviction in her case is really baseless. That is why we will proceed with the case," he said.

The documentary, "Beyond the Sun," aired on Al-Jazeera in April.

Rights groups say torture, including sexual abuse, is routinely conducted in Egyptian police stations. The government denies systematic torture but has investigated several officers on allegations of abuse. Some were convicted and sentenced to prison.