Egyptian politician to sue Sky News for reporting false remarks

Former Egyptian presidential candidate Dr Mohammad Salim Al-Awa has said that he will sue Sky News for attributing false information about the Rabaa al-Adawiyya massacre to him.

Al-Awa denied news, reported by the Sky News Network, that he told them that he had a list of security officers who carried out the Rabaa al-Adawiyya massacre. “This is a mere fabrication,” he said.

Speaking to al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr, he said that he has not spoken to any news network, newspaper or radio station for more than a month. He denied owning documents that included the names of the officers who carried out the “unfortunate massacre.”

Al-Awa explained, “This propaganda is being spread now in order to affect my efforts defending Dr Mohammed Morsi. I blame these lies on the TV channel [Sky News].” He added, “I will take legal action against them very soon.”

Al-Awa said that he had been issued a one-day permit to attend Morsi’s trial.

“I am not sure whether we need a similar permit prior to every hearing session or whether we might have been prevented from attending them completely.”

He added, “I hope that the Court of Appeal in Cairo issues permits to all advocates in order to attend the hearings and carry out their tasks.” He said that the judiciary had made a mistake by not issuing permits to all advocates.