Egypt to ban “harmful” TV channels
November 11, 2014
By Chris Forrester
Egypt’s government has stated that it will ban foreign private channels which ham Egypt “economically, religiously, socially and politically”.
Egypt’s Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb met with the ministers of communications, justice and foreign affairs, as well as the heads of the Media Production City, the Egyptian Radio and Televison Union and NileSat, and representatives from the Federation of Egyptian Industries, a cabinet statement read. The attendants accused certain TV channels which broadcast on foreign satellites of “targeting Egypt’s reputation and spreading rumours against it,” according to the statement. They added that such channels “broadcast material which could harm Egypt’s system of values and traditions” and its “religious beliefs”.
Egypt’s administrative court has already banned on September 3rd the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Rabaa satellite channel and the Qatari al-Jazeera’s Egyptian channel and ordered Egypt’s NileSat Satellite to halt the channels’ broadcast.
A lawyer who filed the lawsuit against Rabaa TV, Samir Sabry, accused the channel of broadcasting “false and misleading” news on Egypt to “incite protects and encourage students to … commit violent acts to cripple the educational process.”
Another lawyer, Mamdouh Tamam, is also calling for the closure of Al Jazeera’s Egyptian Channel, Jazeera Mubasher Misr, for “spreading anti-June 30 revolution news.” Al Jazeera challenged on November 9th the court-imposed ban at the Supreme Administrative court.