Arrest warrant issued against Khaled al-Balshy for insulting Interior Ministry

An arrest warrant was issued against Journalists Syndicate board member and chief editor of Al-Bedaiah newspaper Khaled al-Balshy on charges of insulting the Interior Ministry and the police, as well as inciting protests and conspiring to overthrow the regime, according to Al-Bedaiah.

The warrant comes in light of a complaint that was filed by the assistant interior minister for legal affairs against Balshy pertaining to comments he posted on his social media accounts.

Balshy told Mada Masr that he was surprised by the warrant, since he had not been summoned for questioning. He added that his lawyer would inquire on Tuesday about the case at Public Prosecution.

He confirmed that the complaint is recent and has to do with his statements on social media.

In October 2015, Balshy was summoned, along with prominent activist Rasha Azab, for investigations into charges of calling for unlicensed protests and assaulting security forces, among other charges, in relation to a protest in 2014.

Both were released pending further investigations.

The investigation related to a protest held in June 2014 on the stairs of the Journalists Syndicate, while a press conference was taking place inside regarding the sentencing of 23 protesters to jail over protest-related charges in the case known as the Shura Council case.