After revealing the involvement of an army officer in the assassination of Egypt’s Public Prosecutor Hisham Barakat earlier this week, his acting successor, Ali Omran, imposed a gagging order on the investigation, Rassd.com reported on Friday. The order includes publication of any news regarding the incident in all mass media except information released by the office of the Public Prosecutor.
The decision has created tension among activists on social media, especially after the report published by Al-Watan newspaper, which is close to the Egyptian intelligence agencies, regarding the officer’s involvement.
Al-Watan revealed that former army officer Hisham Ashmawi was involved in the planning of the prosecutor’s assassination. Ashmawi is accused of involvement in a number of the most high-profile attacks of recent years, including helping to plot a failed assassination attempt against Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim in September 2013. It said that the plan for the murder of Hisham Barakat was similar to that of the failed assassination attempt on the Interior Minister.
According to Al-Watan, Ashmawi is a former officer who joined the army in 1996 and went on to enlist in the Special Forces. Although he was sacked from his post, the newspaper did not say why. The security services are doubling their efforts to arrest the suspect, who has taken part in several “terrorist” attacks, including the killing of 70 Egyptian troops in Sinai.