Presidency denies report claiming no tolerance for April 25 protests

Egypt’s presidency denied a report in Al-Shorouk newspaper claiming President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he has no tolerance for April 25 protests.

In a statement Thursday, the presidency expressed its dismay at the report the privately owned newspaper published Wednesday, claiming it includes misleading information based on unidentified sources.

 Al-Shorouk reported Sisi conducted a series of meetings with his aides, during which he allegedly said he would not allow a repeat of last Friday’s protests.

There have been a number of calls for mass protests on April 25 against the handing over of sovereignty for the Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanifir to Saudi Arabia.

The newspaper quoted “informed sources” as saying Sisi expressed his dismay at allowing Friday’s protests to go on for too long, as security forces were too “lenient.”

“This issue is far from the truth,” the presidency said, adding that, “the newspaper should have verified this information before publishing it.”

On Friday thousands took to the streets across the country to protest a new maritime border agreement that Sisi signed earlier this month with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, granting sovereignty over the Red Sea islands.

According to a report by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE), at least 98 protesters face charges for Friday’s protests, and the legal status of another 21 people still in custody is unknown.

AFTE’s report claimed 387 protesters in 17 governorates were arrested during Friday’s demonstrations, 268 of whom were subsequently released.

Echoing Sisi’s recent calls for Egyptian media to be more responsible, the presidency urged media outets to rely on official sources and verify news before publication.