Court shuts down Al-Hafez channel

The Administrative Court ordered the Islamist television station Al-Hafez to cease broadcasting, and the withdrawal of its operating company’s license on Monday.

Actor Hany Ramzy had filed a lawsuit against the channel after talk show presenter Abdallah Badr insulted him on air, calling Ramzy a criminal and a clown, and threatening to shoot the comedian and others like him dead with a rifle.

Hours after former President Mohamed Morsi was deposed, five Islamist channels were taken off air and journalists were arrested onsite. The journalists were released shortly thereafter, and two of the channels resumed broadcast a few weeks later.

The court rejected a case filed by lawyers demanding the closure of Al-Nahar channel. The suit accused one of the channel's main presenters, Mahmoud Saad, of libel and defamation.

The court ruled that the plaintiffs were not personally affected by the allegations and hence not entitled to sue. Furthermore, the presenter did not exceed the accepted limits of free speech, the court asserted.

Last week, the government issued an administrative order to close Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr on the basis that it was operating illegally and with no professional standards, thus endangering national security.

The court announced that on Tuesday it would rule on cases demanding the shutdown of four other channels accused of threatening the social order and broadcasting false news.