Calls for Egypt YouTube to be detained for 'defaming the state'

An Egyptian lawyer yesterday submitted a report to the Public Prosecutor accusing opposition YouTuber Abdullah Al-Sharif of “issuing fabricated videos and calls about the Egyptian state’s institutions and leaders aiming to provoke chaos, spreading disorders, and destabilising the country’s internal security.”

Tarek Mahmoud, a lawyer known for his extensive reporting against opponents of the regime, said that “Abdullah Al-Sharif has recently, through his official page and YouTube channel, insisted to defame the reputation of the Egyptian state, institutions, and leaders by broadcasting fabricated videos and audios in order to harm public interest, spreading chaos, and disturbing security and social peace in exchange for receiving amounts of money periodically from the Muslim Brotherhood.”

“He is still continuing to commit crimes for the benefit of external parties, which are hostile to Egypt, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood,” he added.

He urged for “urgent and extensive investigations to be carried out regarding the facts submitted in the report by him; to issue an arrest warrant against the defendant Abdullah Al-Sharif, to include his name on the watch list, to notify the Interpol to include his name on the Red Notice list, to hand him over to Egypt, and to refer him for a criminal trial urgently.”

A few days ago, Alsharif broadcasted a new leak attributed to advisers of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, included talk about bribes and obtaining funds illegally amounting to 68 million Egyptian pounds.

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A leaked recording earlier this week by popular YouTuber Abdullah Al-Sharif allegedly revealed a phone call between two presidential advisers, with one offering the other two million Egyptian pounds ($127,000) for every project passed to the Armed Forces Engineering Authority.

According to the statement of the Ministry of the Interior, “the investigations of the audio leak incident revealed that a woman named Mervat Mohamed, who claimed to be an adviser at the Presidency of the Republic, was found to be Mervat Mohamed Ali Ahmed Al-Badawy (52 years) holding a bachelor of law and residing in Alexandria Governorate in northern Egypt.”