On November 8th Azza El Hennawy, a presenter on the public channel Al Qahera Al Youm (Cairo Today), was suspended by the management. Hani Jaafar, chairman of ERTU’s regional channels (Egyptian public television and radio), said the journalist had been laid off for not fulfilling her “duty of objectivity”.
In early November, Ms El Henawy interrupted her news programme for four minutes to give her opinion of the Egyptian government’s policy and President Abdel Fattah Al Sissi.
An investigation into the journalist will be conducted at the request of ERTU’s chairman, Essam Al Amir.
The suspension took place the same day as military intelligence arrested independent journalist Hossam Bahgat. Accused of publishing “false information liable to affect the security of the state”, he was released on November 10th after protests from, among others, the UN and Amnesty International.
Sources : Egypt Independent, Al Watan, ANHRI, Courrier International, Le Monde
