EX‐CAIRO OFFICIAL IS GIVEN 10 YEARS

CAIRO, June 26—Salah Nasr, who was chief of Egyptian intelligence in the early 1960's was sentenced to 10 years hard labor in prison here today for having ordered the torture of a prominent journalist, Mustapha Amin, 11 years ago.

The verdict by a Cairo criminal court rang down the curtain on a cause celebre that has fascinated politicians, journalists and even moviegoers here for the last two years.

Mr. Amin, who writes influential daily editorials in Al Akhbar, Cairo's largest daily, initiated the court action against Mr. Nasr.

He accused Mr. Nasr and two junior intelligence officers of subjecting him to severe physical and mental torture after arresting him in July 1965 on what he called false charges of spying for the United States.

Mr. Amin at the time of his arrest was co‐publisher of the Akhbar el‐Yom publishing house and as such was one of Egypt's most influential journalists. He entertained excellent relations until that moment with the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Today's verdict, which vindicated Mr. Amin, was preceded by a public personal controversy between him and Mr. Nasr.

The case had attracted unusual attention because both men held high positions under Mr. Nasser and both fell from grace and were imprisoned in the ‘60's. Mr. Nasr's fall came after Egypt's defeat in the 1967 war against Israel, two years after Mr. Aniin's arrest.

Then in February 1974 both men were released at almost the same • time by President Anwar el‐Sadat.

Both men have written books about the case. Mr. Amin charged that Mr. Nasr had ordered him tortured and that the spying charges against him were false.

Mr. Nasr, in a book published in Beirut and widely sold here, answered that the spying charges against Mr. Amin were true and that if the editor suffered any maltreatment in prison it was not the fault of Mr. Nasr or his intelligence organization.

The Cairo public in general became aware of the controversy between Mr. Amin and Mr. Nasr early this year when a film about police oppression during the Nasser era became a box‐office hit.

The film, called Karnak. showed idealistic students being tortured raped and killed by policemen taking orders from a sadistic corrupt police chief.

References From Film

So evocative was the ‘stark display that moviegoers discussing the film invariably referred to the main character as “Salah Nasr” even though in the film he had another name and rro physical resemblance to Mr. Nasr.

Mr. Nasr went to court to try to have the film banned as being libelous. He lost his case when Labib Muawad, a prom. inent lawyer arguing against him, asked Mr. Nasr in court whether he saw any resem. blance between himself and the movie's villains. Mr. Nasr, oi course, said no, and the case was dismissed to the delight of Cairo cinema fans.

Ironically for Mr. Amin, hi: victory in the court comes at time when his own political in fluence once again has begur to wane.

After his release from prisor in early 1974 he was appointee editor in chief of Akhbar el Yom, the large circulation Sat urday edition of Al Akhbarthe equivalent of a Sunda newspaper in the United States

Three months ago he was re lieved of his post hut he con tinues to write editorials ant columns daily both in Al Akh bar, the daily newspaper, and Akhbar‐El Yom. He also took over the daily column that had been written by his twin brother, Ali Amin, who died suddenly in March. All Amin had also just lost his managerial position and been reduced to writing role.

Mustafa Amin remains the most influential journalistic voice on what is called here the Right—favoring political and economic liberalization along the line conducted by President Sadat..

Today's verdict against Mr. Nasr, as well as the written controversy between him and Mr. Amin and the Karnak film, are part of what is called here “de‐Nasserization'—the slow but continuous process by which the Sadat Government has been debunking what it calls the “negative aspects” of Nasserism while retaining what it regards as the “positive aspects.”

As far as the press is concerned, the process seems to have slowed, however. There was a time about a year ago when Egyptian newspapers, all of which are Government controlled, took the freedom to criticize many domestic aspects, especially economic policy.

The criticism struck close to home, and President Sadat in a speech this spring chastised the press. An ominous conformity has become the rule since then.

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