Al-Dokki Misdemeanor Court on Tuesday sentenced in absentia anti-government TV Anchors Moataz Matar and Mohamed Nasser to two years in prison and a EGP 5,000 fine on accusations of inciting against state institutions, including the Armed Forces and Interior Ministry, through their TV shows on the Turkey-based Al-Sharq TV channel.
The decision came following the completion of the prosecution’s investigation into the lawsuit filed against the TV hosts.
The lawsuit against Matar accused him of incitement of killing, spreading false information, threatening security, and leading sectarian strife among the Egyptian people. The lawsuit was supported by videos taken from their TV show that focused on their criticism of the president and government
In July 2015, Matar was sentenced by the same court to 10 years in prison over charges of attempting to overthrow the regime and inciting violence against state institutions.
In mid-September 2015, Nassser, was sentenced to five years in prison and a EGP 500,000 fine for spreading false news and was sentenced to three years and EGP 200,000 for inciting violence, with total bail amount of EGP 8,000 needed in order to suspend the sentences until an appeal case.
Matar received a sentence of one year in prison in March 2013 on charges of spreading false news and publicly defaming judge Khaled Mahgoub, who handled the case involving former president Mohamed Morsi known as the “Wadi El-Natrun prison break” trial.
The lawsuit against Nasser was filed by a lawyer who accused him of endangering public security and social peace, inciting sectarian strife, inciting against police and army institutions and obtaining foreign funds from pro-Muslim Brotherhood intelligence agencies to overthrow the regime.
The hosts and TV station are known for their stance against the Egyptian government.
