London – Sep 9, 2017
The committee involved in seizing and managing Muslim Brotherhood assets in Egypt has added a new list of the companies and institutions it decided to seize. The list include Rassd news network and 5 media production companies, namely Red Line for media services whose owner is Osama Zeinhom Hassan, Al-Nahr Media and Publishing whose owner is Ahmed Sayed Makkawi Al-Shazly, Al-Nour Media whose owner is Khalid Abdullah, Al-Diaa Media whose owner is Diaa Al-Din Farahat, in addition to the Cultural Center of the Future Studies which belongs to Dr. Jamal Nassar.
This new list is a serious step in the nationalization of the media initiated by Egyptian authorities since July 3, 2013 coup by the closing several satellite channels, newspapers and programs, and then forcing a number of owners of channels to get rid of them by selling them to companies owned by the military security services, then blocking hundreds of websites and web pages, and seizing some of them, such as Masralarabia, Al-Borsa, Daily New Egypt and Cairo portal, not to mention the imprisonment of dozens of journalists.
Arab Media Freedom Monitor “Ikshef” condemns this new action against media production companies. It affirms that this procedure and the previous ones to suppress the freedom of the media in Egypt require a firm stance by Egyptian media professionals in defense of their profession, freedom and livelihood. These actions also require a firm stance by local and international organizations interested in media freedom. Ikshef calls on all these organizations to work together to face this attack, and rescue the Egyptian press and Egyptian journalists and media professionals.
