CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) – Two Egyptian journalists and a blogger were questioned for three hours on Tuesday by military officials over criticism of the army on a live talk show, they said.
Reem Maged and Nabil Sharafeddine, the two reporters, and prominent blogger and activist Hossam al-Hamalawy were questioned by Adel Morsi, who heads the military justice authority.
Maged told reporters that the questioning did not take place in the framework of an investigation but that the army had sought to "clarify" certain statements on her talk show "Baladna mil Masry."
"They told us we were there to offer clarifications," Hamalawy told AFP by telephone, adding that media pressure and online solidarity calls had contributed in matters not going further.
Shortly after news of their summons hit the Internet on Monday, a Facebook page was created calling for a protest outside the military prosecutor's office during their questioning.
On Tuesday, around 100 people had gathered outside the offices chanting for freedom of expression and against military trials for civilians.
"They asked us to provide all information in our possession on violations committed by the military police," Hamalawy said.
During Maged's programme on the OnTV satellite channel on Thursday, Hamalawy accused military police of rights abuses, saying he had proof of violations committed by named officials.
Sharafeddine was questioned over statements he made on the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on the same channel on Friday.
During the uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak, the army was at first idolised as hero of the revolution for not firing on protesters but has since come under criticism for its handling of the transitional phase and for alleged rights violations.
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
No comments:
Post a Comment