In an emergency meeting on Saturday the press syndicate decided unanimously to reject the draft constitution and punish the syndicate’s head, Mamdouh Al-Wali, who independently decided to return to the Constituent Assembly last week.
At a 20 November meeting, the press syndicate decided to withdraw its representatives from the assembly. They argued that the new constitution largely kept in place the same restrictions they faced under Hosni Mubarak.
A meeting on 25 November descended into chaos with anti-Morsy and pro-Morsy members fighting both verbally and physically. The spark for the brawling was a call to remove Al-Wali, who is a Muslim Brotherhood member.
The plot took a twist last Thursday when the assembly gathered to finalise the draft constitution and Al-Wali was present to vote.
On Saturday Al-Wali was referred to the syndicate’s disciplinary committee.
Journalists also took part in the rally on Tuesday that ended in hundreds of thousands of opposition members filling Tahrir Square.
