EGYPT’S BROTHERHOOD NEWSPAPER CRITICIZES FORCED CLOSURE
Cairo, 10 Rabi’ul Awwal 1435/12 January 2013 (MINA) – Egypt’s brotherhood-affiliated newspaper criticizes the forced closure of its media by the state-run Ahram printers.
The Freedom and Justice Newspaper (FJN)’s journalists urged the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate (EJS) to intervene immediately to resume printing of the newspaper, the party’s official website reported as quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).
“It probably is no coincidence that state-run Ahram printers should stop the Muslim Brotherhood political wing’s Freedom and Justice Newspaper, since the junta abducted the country’s elected President Mohamed Morsi, who once was the party’s chairman,” FJN said in a statement.
The FJN was shuttered more than two weeks ago for no legal reason, the statement added, thus stopping the only source of income for more than 200 journalists and technicians. The FJN’s journalists called on the syndicate board to do their part in the defense of journalists’ rights, to stop violations by coup authorities of the laws that regulate journalism, so the crisis would not get even worse.
In a statement Saturday, FJN journalists criticized the state of inaction and cowardice that taint the syndicate board’s reaction.
“The syndicate board simply issued a statement 10 days ago, rejecting and criticizing the decision. They did not move one step forward. Nor did they offer any solution to the crisis, or apply any kind of pressure to get the paper back in print,” they stressed out.
The statement pointed that although 13 days have passed since Al-Ahram stopped printing the Freedom and Justice Newspaper, without any legal basis, the journalists postponed their protest activities against closure of the paper after their first protest rally on the Saturday before last.
They hoped the syndicate would play its role in the protection of journalists and their paper. However, this has not happened. The syndicate board has not even held a special session to discuss the issue.(T/P03/E1)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
