(AFP Photo)
By Nourhan Dakroury
Six private TV channels issued a statement on Monday to reject “threat letters” sent to them by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones.
On Friday, the authority issued a warning of closure to those channels in the event that they “cross the legal limits” by “insulting and offending” public figures.
The channels asserted that such warnings are a setback to the freedoms gained by the people of Egypt after the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime.
The statement assured Egyptians that they will “not withdraw from defending the rights of the people to learn,” adding that Articles 45 and 48 of the constitution doesn’t permit the closure of private channels unless the court issues a verdict of closure.
The channels which issued the joint statement are ONTV, CBC, Dream, Al-Nahar, Al-Hayat TV, and Al-Kahera Wal Nas.
The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones is a government agency working for the Ministry of Investment in charge of private media outlets.
