A lawsuit has been filed demanding BBC reporter Orla Guerin be expelled from Egypt in response to a report on human rights violation which “contains lies and allegations”.
The lawsuit was filed by controversial lawyer Samir Sabri before the Administrative Court of Justice demanding the Egyptian interior minister in his capacity as the Supreme President of the Passports, Immigration and Nationality Authority deport the BBC journalist.
Last week, the BBC published a report entitled “The Shadow Over Egypt” which included interviews with families of alleged victims of torture and enforced disappearances.
The report highlighted the case of a young woman named Zubeida who claimed to have been subjected to enforced disappearance and rape by security forces.
After the report, a woman who alleged to be Zubeida appeared in an Egyptian TV show denying the report’s content.
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Later, Egypt’s State Information Service called on “all Egyptian officials and sectors of the Egyptian elite wishing to do so, to boycott conducting media interviews and meetings with BBC correspondents and editors until the BBC issues a formal apology.”
However, a spokesperson for the BBC said: “We are aware of the reports about this BBC story on Egyptian TV and of the comments of the head of the State Information Service. We stand by the integrity of our reporting teams.”