State-TV anchor Azza El-Hennawy was suspended Thursday just days after she criticised President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi earlier this week during an episode of her television show with journalist Osama Shehata.
El-Hennawy will stop presenting her show on Al-Qahera Channel after head of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union Essam Al-Amir ordered her suspension, accusing her of lack of objectivity and professionalism.
The prosecutor-general referred a report filed against state-TV anchor Azza El-Hennawy to the Supreme State Security Prosecution on Thursday.
A critic of the current government, El-Hennawy directly addressed Al-Sisi, criticising his performance since he assumed the presidency.
Following the broadcast, she came under fire from fellow TV anchors and celebrities. Two reports were filed to the prosecutor-general accusing her of incitement.
In the episode that sparked the controversy, El-Hennawy is reported as saying: “You [Al-Sisi] have not solved anything since you began ruling Egypt; you promised that within two years we would see a new Egypt, and one year and eight months have passed without any improvements. Only a few months are left and we are waiting.”
She continued her criticism, saying the president calls on people to work to help him, while he is not working towards any changes, claiming that he is “all talk and no action”.
In November 2015, El-Henawwy was suspended from Al-Qahera Channel due to her criticism of the official response to the flooding in Alexandria.
