(AFP Photo / Gianluigi Guercia)
Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) spokesperson Ahmed Sobei was sent to investigation at the Press Syndicate Tuesday.
Sobei is accused of inciting violence against anti-Morsy protesters during the Presidential Palace clashes, which took place on 5 December. Denying the allegations, Sobei accused syndicate board members of settling personal scores with him by referring him to investigation, reported Ikhwan web.
The investigation was carried out by syndicate board members Gamal Fahmy and Karem Mahmoud. Neither could be reached for comment.
Journalists for Reform movement condemned Sobei’s investigation, describing it as a “gagging” attempt. In a statement released Monday, the movement stated that the accusations Sobei is facing are “malicious.” They added that Sobei was in a live television interview at the time of the Presidential Palace clashes and thus couldn’t have incited violence. The movement launched a campaign in solidarity with Sobei called “We are All Ahmed Sobei.”
The movement said: “The Press Syndicate is not a branch of the National Salvation Front (NSF),” adding that Fahmy, who is affiliated with the NSF, was the one who referred Sobei to investigation. It furthermore demanded that Fahmy step down.
The presidency legal affairs administration filed a complaint against Fahmy on Wednesday, accusing him of writing articles offensive to President Mohamed Morsy. Fahmy is a prominent critic of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Journalists for Reform participated in two protests on Monday; one was held in front of the embassy of the United Arab Emirates, demanding the release of Egyptian journalist Ahmed Ga’far, who is held in UAE and accused of being part of a Muslim Brotherhood cell working to overthrow the Emirati regime.
The other protest was held in front of Media Production City, in solidarity with media practitioners working at ultraconservative Islamist Al-Hafez channel. The Administrative Court suspended the television programme Fi Al-Mizan for 30 days and forbade two of its presenters, Abdallah Badr and Atef Abdel Rashid from making television appearances on Saturday.
Additional reporting by Basil El-Dabh
