Until now, we do not know exactly what charges Salah Diab and his son Tawfik were arrested on. Is it the seizing of state-owned land or the possession of unlicensed weapons? Is it building on agricultural land or is it financial corruption?
If the charge is seizing state-owned land, why arrest Diab alone and not the thousands of others whose names are known to all?
If it is possession of unlicensed weapons, the government knows very well that the country has turned into an arsenal of illegal weapons of the type only armies have. So why Diab alone, noting that he has the legal justification to easily apply for licenses of weapons in order to protect his various investment activities?
And if it is building on agricultural land, thousands have done that before. So why is Diab alone to be arrested in this way, which is obviously intended to humiliate and defame him? The government does not do so with the most dangerous outlaws.
The government that has issued a law which allows for reconciliation with robbers of public funds if they return them to the state is the same government that has arrested Diab in this way on suspicious charges of infringement of public funds.
Are defamation, humiliation and intimidation not banned by the laws of that government?
Is what is happening to Diab and his son an appropriate way to deal with someone that the government intends to reconcile with in good faith and in accordance with the law, or is it blackmail and forced acquiescence of what is not allowed by the law and by tradition?
What is happening to Salah Diab raises many questions that only the government can answer. Are there no other defendants in this case? Why were they not arrested in the same degrading manner? Is it because they are not shareholders of Al-Masry Al-Youm? And why was his name in all the news linked to the fact that he is the founder of Al-Masry Al-Youm?
I am not defending Salah Diab. I am exposing a government that claims it is fighting corruption, whereas corruption flows in its very veins. It is a government that protects and encourages corruption with legislation. It even urges religious scholars to issue fatwas permitting briberies, considering them gifts or alms.
I have numerous times written about looters of state-owned land in Al-Masry Al-Youm, whose majority shares are owned by Diab and he never objected to it. In fact, it was Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb who objected and summoned me for clarification.
I wrote against The United States and Israel, but Diab never objected, although he is the certified agent of many US companies.
I wrote against the QIZ and the normalization of relations with Israel and Diab never objected.
When I wrote against corrupt businessmen and when I criticized Sisi, I received warnings and threats, but not from Diab or the other shareholders of the newspaper.
I fear it was Al-Masry Al-Youm and not Diab that was arrested.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
