Egypt arrests professor who criticised pro-regime media personalities

Egyptian security forces have arrested an Egyptian media professor, Ayman Mansour Nada, who criticised media figures close to the regime.

In a series of articles circulated on social media, Nada said that the opposition media abroad had reached a wider audience among Egyptians than the media within Egypt.

In his article, Nada accused official agencies of exerting control over the media.

Nada, who worked in the Media Faculty at Cairo University, also submitted a report to the Attorney General criticising the President of Cairo University, Mohamed Othman Elkhosht, accusing him of corruption and wasting public funds.

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However, the public prosecutor ignored the evidence submitted by Nada and arrested him instead.

Nada was dismissed from Cairo University in March in a move designed to appease the media who were angered by his criticism.

Before he was arrested Nada said that Mohamed Elkosht threatened him in an effort to stop him from releasing the article.

According to activists, Ayman is being held in Awal El-Tagamo police station and will today stand before an investigative judge on charges of “intimidating and disrupting state institutions,” under the terror law.

The Egyptian regime has cracked down on a number of academics as part of its campaign against free speech.