Egyptian TV anchor suspended for criticizing Sisi

An Egyptian TV anchor has been suspended for criticizing President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his government over their handling of heavy rains in the country.

Last week, Azza al-Hennawy criticized Sisi and the government for the inability to handle heavy rains that killed more than 30 people.

“Unfortunately, this is how the Egyptian citizen is valued by the president and the government,” Hennawy, who works for the local Kahera channel, said in her program. “When a building collapses due to corruption inside local councils, an Egyptian citizen would be lucky to set up a tent [in a refugee house] and receive LE 600.”

The anchorwoman went on to call on Sisi to tackle corruption in the local councils.

Following the program, Hennawy was suspended and referred to a disciplinary panel.

Hany Gaffar, the head of the local channels division, argued that the anchorwoman had violated the channel’s professional code, which bans anchors from expressing their personal opinions on air.

The scope of free expression has been drastically limited in Egypt since the 2013 military coup against President Mohamed Morsi