Media advisor defends Jazeera closure

Sherif Shawky, media advisor to the interim government, issued a statement Monday defending the closure of Qatar-based satellite channel Al Jazeera in Egypt.

The station was closed due to legal violations committed by Al Jazeera staff, he claimed, adding that the channel was operating without the required licenses, reported the state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA).

The government is currently reviewing the licenses for all foreign media outlets operating in the country, reported MENA, citing an interview Shawky gave to the US-based newspaper The Wall Street Journal.

Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr was officially banned from broadcasting in early September after the investment minister asserted that the channel was not officially registered with the Egyptian authorities, and was broadcasting unlawfully.

Shawky claimed Al Jazeera staff tried to circumvent the ban by broadcasting on different satellites.

Since former President Mohamed Morsi’s ouster on July 3, several satellite channels have been shut down by Administrative Court rulings, including Al Jazeera, Al-Quds, Al-Yarmouk and Ahrar 25 January. The court also ordered the closure of their offices. 

Shortly after Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr was shut down, security forces raided Al Jazeera English’s Cairo bureau, confiscating broadcasting equipment and arresting the office’s financial manager, Mostafa Hawa, a source channel told Mada Masr. This came a day after authorities deported three foreign Al Jazeera reporters for allegedly using unlicensed satellite transmitters and working in Egypt without the proper permits.