Chief editors and party leaders have denounced the way Salah Diab, the founder of Al-Masry Al-Youm, was arrested and how pictures of his arrest were leaked to the media.
Chief editors:
Mahmoud Musallam, editor-in-chief of Al-Watan, said it was humiliating. “Diab is a patriot whose ideas emanate from his love for the country and for serving society,” he said.
“I will not talk about the case because it is now before the courts,” Musallam added. “I no longer work for him, but I decided not to publish the picture of his arrest in Al-Watan.”
Magdi Gallad, the former editor-in-chielf of Al-Masry Al-Youm, said the way Diab was arrested is a breach of a citizen’s right to be dealt with by the security services in accordance with the law. “I know that I will be attacked on social networking sites because of this,” he said.
“Salah Diab is not corrupt,” he added. “I worked with him for nine years. He and the people working with him were behind the success of Al-Masry Al-Youm.”
Khaled Salah, editor-in-chief of Al-Youm Al-Sabea, tweeted: “This will adversely affect the media and the investment climate. Investment problems are resolved by negotiation, while media problems are resolved by direct dialogue.”
“A smart negotiating state is better than a tyrannical one, even if it is worried about national unity,” he added.
Party leaders:
Abdel Ghaffar Shokr, president of the People's Alliance Party, said the National Council for Human Rights, of which he is the vice chairman, finds the way Diab was arrested inconsistent with the most basic principles of human rights.
“They should have requested, in writing, that he go to the authority investigating the charges levelled at him,” he said.
He said that Diab is a well-known person who has economic clout. “The way he was arrested discourages foreign investors,” he said, calling for accountability for those who ordered the arrest in this way.
Mahmoud Abaza, former president of the Wafd Party, said security authorities must abide by the political considerations set forth by the state and not the other way around. “This is better for the citizens and the state,” he said.
Nagy al-Shihabi, head of the Democratic Generation Party, said the way Diab was arrested is not just an insult to him, but to all the masses who came out on January 25 and June 30.
“It is a blatant violation of the Constitution and the law,” he said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
