The Freedom and Justice Party’s foreign relations committee head Gehad al-Haddad defended the recent confiscation of Al-Dostour newspaper’s Saturday edition, accusing the newspaper of libel and slander.
In a tweet, Haddad said that the issue should be taken to court.
The Giza Court of First Instance supported the decree issued on Saturday confiscating that day’s edition of the newspaper. The newspaper and its editor-in-chief were accused of libel and slander against President Mohamed Morsy and inciting sectarian strife. The prosecution allegedly received reports saying that the newspaper’s headlines were a major factor fueling the recent Dahshur sectarian clashes.
Many activists condemned the confiscation as a repressive move. Political activist Nawara Negm said an incident like this “had not occurred in Mubarak’s days, despite the attacks he faced.”
Journalist Wael Abdel Fattah added that Al-Dostour had always attacked Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood, but its criticism did not justify shutting the paper down on flimsy charges.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
