Journalists Syndicate takes punitive measures against Ahmed Moussa

The Journalists Syndicate voted unanimously to take punitive measures against controversial television host Ahmed Moussa and to open an internal investigation into his journalistic practices, the privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reported.

The syndicate’s decision comes after members signed a petition demanding Moussa be referred to internal investigation and revoking his membership for airing intimate pictures he claimed were of elected member of parliament and film director Khaled Youssef on his TV show.

The pictures allegedly show pornographic pictures of Youssef with young women, although Youssef denies they are of him.

The photos initially surfaced when the director of the Faculty of Literature at Alexandria University, Abbas Suleiman, accused Youssef of assaulting his wife, Shaimaa Sobhy, and reported him to the prosecution on December 14, attaching 20 images to the report — allegedly of Youssef with naked women.

Moussa aired the pictures on his show on the privately owned Sada al-Balad channel on December 14 and demanded that Youssef respond to them, claiming he has more to release.

The Journalists Syndicate is not the only media organization seeking to chastise Moussa. The state-affiliated Chamber of Media Production condemned recent violations of ethics by both Moussa and television host Reham Saeed after an emergency meeting on Saturday, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.

Saeed’s show was briefly taken off air after she aired private photos of a guest on her show, sparking an advertising boycott and a social media campaign to dismiss her.

The Chamber of Media Production’s statement condemned Moussa and Saeed’s violations of the right to privacy, asserting that all journalists must abide by the syndicate’s code of conduct, or they risk losing their membership.

The Journalists Syndicate, in conjunction with the Chamber of Media Production, also recently lambasted Mahmoud Shabana, head of the Athletes Syndicate, for refusing to allow journalists access to the Zamalek Football Club. They insisted that he apologize and reconcile with the syndicate, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm. This reconciliation is reportedly due to take place on Wednesday. The head of the Zamalek Club, Khaled Abdel Aziz, reportedly reversed his decision to bar journalists from the club, the privately owned Youm7 newspaper reported.

These actions indicate a spate of journalists and public figures being held accountable for media violations by both media organizations and the public.

Saeed’s actions prompted an online campaign against her. She has previously insulted Syrian refugees, thrown people off her show for their views and aired private photographs, among other incidents that have angered the public.

Television presenter Ahmad Kheir Eddin suggests the syndicate made such moves now because "violations by media personalities have reached a level that can hardly be ignored" and have impacted "people close to the regime, such as Youssef."

"Our media performance has been subject to criticism by international figures, such as [Sudanese President] Omar al-Bashir," Kheir Eddin said, adding that this is embarrassing.

In December, Bashir allegedly said Egyptian media is “lousy” and “reports false information,” in reference to an alliance that was reported between Ethiopia and Sudan. Tensions have been strained between the two nations since the reported abuse of Sudanese nationals and the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project.