Anchorwoman Suspended for Criticizing Sisi; NGOs Disbanded for Alleged Brotherhood Ties

Anchorwoman Suspended for Criticizing Sisi 12 NGOs Disbanded for Alleged Brotherhood Ties Twitter Campaign Draws Attention to ‘Forgotten Detainees’ Political Cartoon of the Day: Property Dealers Top Stories Anchorwoman Suspended for Criticizing Sisi Azza al-Hennawy, an anchorwoman for state-run TV channel al-Qahera, was suspended and will be subject to an internal disciplinary investigation for criticizing the government. Al-Hennawy criticized the government’s poor handling of flooding in and the Delta over the last two weeks, and in particular called out President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for appointing officials and not holding them accountable for their actions. She said the government makes empty promises and President Sisi uses “rhetoric of illusion.” Maspero’s local channels division head claimed that she was suspended for expressing her personal opinion, which he said is against Maspero’s professional code. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) criticized [Ar] the channel’s decision to suspend al-Hennawy. The rights organization pointed out the “double standard” that allows pro-Sisi news anchors to show their support for the president, but does not allow any criticism of the government. Al-Hennawy commented on her suspension, saying that it is her right as a media practitioner to express her opinion on air. In related news, well-known journalist and human rights activist Hossam Bahgat posted a statement detailing his three-day detention by military intelligence on Tuesday evening. He wrote that armed guards repeatedly tried to convince him to forego his right to a lawyer and that he was not allowed to access a lawyer for over eight hours. As he is not a member of the Journalists’ Syndicate, the military prosecution stressed that he is not entitled to the rights of journalists who are syndicate members. Bahgat urged the syndicate to protect all journalists, regardless of their membership status, and thanked them for providing one of the lawyers at his interrogation. He concluded his statement with a “wish for freedom for the thousands of people unfairly detained in Egyptian prisons.” back to top

12 NGOs Disbanded for Alleged Brotherhood Ties The Social Solidarity Ministry disbanded 12 non-governmental organizations on Thursday for their alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood was declared a terrorist organization by Egyptian authorities in late 2013, after the military ousted former president . The Minister of Social Solidarity, Ghada Waly, announced [Ar] that disbanding these organizations is a necessary implementation of the law prohibiting Muslim Brotherhood activities due to its designation as a terrorist organization. The organizations’ assets and funds will be seized and redirected to the ministry’s assistance fund for NGOs. The ministry’s statement said that 545 such organizations have been disbanded based on court orders so far. back to top

Twitter Campaign Draws Attention to ‘Forgotten Detainees’ In the wake of an international outcry over the detention of journalist and human rights activist Hossam Bahgat, a campaign bringing attention to detainees who are less well-known began on social media. Supporters of the movement used [Ar] the hashtag translating to “write the name of a forgotten detainee” to share names and other information about prisoners, some detailing the mistreatment these prisoners have faced. BBC Arabic reported that the man responsible for the movement is Wael Abbas, an activist and blogger, and that over 6,000 tweets used the hashtag in the first 6 hours of the campaign. Among the prisoners highlighted by Twitter users is graphic designer Mostafa Massouny, who disappeared over four months ago. Freedom for the Brave, a Facebook page advocating for the rights of prisoners, stated that security forces abducted him on June 26, and he is one of over 100 individuals who were forcibly disappeared [Ar] from April to June 2015. The Youth Against the Coup movement used [Ar] the hashtag to draw attention to his case. Massouny’s location is still unknown. Others focused their posts on activists who were arrested for participating in political protests. back to top

Political Cartoon of the Day: Property Dealers

Left: “Housing” Right: “Property dealers” Source: @muzaini, Twitter, 11/11/2015 back to top Also Worth Reading

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