Journalists Protest Closure Of Brotherhood Newspaper

A group of journalists staged a demonstration Saturday to protest the suspension of the Freedom and Justice newspaper, the official voice of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party, which bears the same name.

Protesters held up signs condemning the closure of the newspaper and others bearing the Rabaa sign, which came to symbolise sympathy with the victims of the sustained crackdown on supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi after the killing of hundreds in August when two protest camps were forcibly cleared by security forces.

The interim authorities’ decision to ban the newspaper came after Wednesday’s cabinet announcement that the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi hailed, would be regarded as a “terrorist organisation,” its funds frozen and activities proscribed.

Saturday’s demonstration, in which the newspaper’s journalists participated, was led by the rapporteur of the Journalists’ Syndicate, Mohamed Abdel-Quddous.

The protest was interrupted by supporters of army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who announced Morsi’s ouster in July, chanting back at the journalists accusing them of “supporting terrorism.”

During Wednesday’s announcement, the cabinet accused the group of plotting a deadly bombing in the Nile Delta province of Dakahliya targeting the province’s security headquarters, where 16 were killed and around 100 injured, according to latest official reports.

The Brotherhood-led National Alliance Supporting Legitimacy, Morsi’s main support coalition in the country, refuted the government’s allegations and reiterated its commitment to “peaceful escalation” against the interim government.

Source : Ahram