Egypt commits 112 violations against press freedoms within a month

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information denounced Egypt’s interim government for punishing media channels with recent judicial decisions to shut down a number of satellite channels operating in Egypt, on Tuesday.

The network registered 112 violations against freedom of the press in Egypt by the Egyptian security forces and protestors between June 26 and August 26.

The Egypt based network denounced the Egyptian administrative court’s decision to ban five satellite channels and shut down their offices, describing the penalty as a flagrant assault against freedom of expression and viewers right to judge content for themselves.

The administrative court in Egypt had accepted a lawsuit filed by actor Hany Ramzy against al Hafez channel and ordered a permanent ban on the channel and halted the owner, al Baraheen’s, broadcasting licenses.

The same court also banned, al Jazeera Mubasher Egypt, al Yarmuk channel, al Quds channel and Ahrar 25 channel and closed their offices under accusations of disturbing the public peace and spreading rumours and false information harmful to public security.

Al Ahram newspaper reported that Egyptian security forces on Monday had raided and shut down three of al-Jazeera network’s offices in Egypt and deported a number of its employees following the decision by the Egyptian council of ministers to take legal action against the network which operates without a license.

According to the network, the closed channels are mostly pro-Islamic channels affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood.