Three leading members of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate have refused to post bail of LE10,000 set by the Cairo prosecution in relation to charges that they sheltered two journalists wanted by the police in early May, along with related charges of spreading false news.
Syndicate President Yehia Qallash, Secretary General Gamal Abdel Rahim and board member Khaled al-Balshy refused on Monday to post bail, remaining in custody at Qasr al-Nil police station while prosecutors determine whether to keep them in custody while investigations continue.
The three men are accused of allowing journalists Amr Badr and Mahmoud al-Sakka to take shelter from the police inside the syndicate headquarters on May 1, at the height of anti-government protests over the transfer of the Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi control.
Badr, the editor-in-chief of yanair.net, and his colleague Sakka were wanted on a police warrant for spreading false news and seeking to incite illegel protests. They took shelter in the syndicate's headquarters in downtown Cairo as police searched from them at their homes.
Police eventually arrested the two men at the syndicate building in a controversial incident that was characterized by the syndicate as a violent and "unpecedented" raid. According to some reports, around 40 police personnel were involved in the operation.
However, the Interior Ministry claims that only a handful of policemen were involved in making the arrests and that the scale and seriousness of the incident had been exaggerated for political purposes. Qallash and his two syndicate colleagues are also being investigated for spreading false news over the incident.
Following the arrests, Qallash called for the resignation of Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar.
During investitations into the affair, the syndicate’s legal advisor Sayed Abu Zeid has claimed that Sakka and Badr were within their rights to take shelter at the syndicate headquarters, since the organization has a duty to defend the interests of its members.
The prosecution is expected to reconsider the position of Qallash, Abdel Rahim and Balshy later on Monday, ruling on whether to keep them in custody pending investigations that might lead to a trial.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
