(Photo from public domain)
A Nasr City Misdemeanour Court sentenced television presenter Ahmed Moussa Tuesday to two years’ imprisonment and an EGP 20,000 fine for libel.
Moussa allegedly insulted, defamed, and disclosed untrue facts about Osama Al-Ghazali Harb, head of the Democratic Front political party on 20 September, according to the complaint filed against the presenter.
Commenting on the ruling, Moussa said during his show on Tuesday night that he is one of the most attacked people, a feat he said has been ongoing since the ‘90s.
He added that he could have filed hundreds of complaints against journalists and media personnel, and that he is providing a public service that he is paying for.
“The show, and I, will go on,” Moussa said.
The Tuesday court order was not the first against Moussa. On 10 December, the Nasr City Misdemeanour Court sentenced Moussa to six months’ imprisonment with hard labour or an EGP 5,000 bail for insulting a lawyer
Moussa was also ordered to pay a fine of EGP 10,000 and another EGP 10,000 as compensation to Tarek Al-Awady, the lawyer of the Zamalek Sporting Club’s fan group the Ultras White Knights. He had described Al-Awady on air as a “fugitive”, accusing him of breaking into a police station, stealing a police vehicle and torching it in September.
Moussa, who hosts a programme on Sada Al-Balad television channel, was charged with spreading false news and defaming Al-Awady.
He is widely criticised by anti-government public opinion. An alleged leak from President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s office in January reveals government officials allegedly picked media figures to convince citizens that Al-Sisi is targeted, and to encourage their support of his 2014 presidential campaign.
Among those referred to in the leak as “our” TV presenters were Ahmed Moussa, Wael Al-Ebrashy, and Ibrahim Eissa.
