Al-Dostor 'fuelled sectarian strife'

Al-Dostor independent newspaper Cairo – Akram Ali Giza court issued a ruling Saturday ordering the confiscation of editions of the daily paper Al-Dostor released on August 11 2012 due to charges of insulting the president and inciting sectarian strife. The ruling is a response to background investigations by the General Prosecution who filed the lawsuits. A number of persons had filed lawsuits to the Interior Ministry department for Countering Publication Crimes accusing Al-Dostor and figures in charge (Head of the board of directors Reda Edward and Editor in Chief Islam Afifi) of insulting the president in language punishable by law and fueling sectarian strife in consecutive editions of the newspaper which used words and headlines inappropriate to the status of the president. The claimants said in the report that “Al-Dostor newspaper works on inciting strife in society in a way that threatens stability and hinders production in the country. They also insulted the president through words and phrases punishable by law." They added that they "file this report as Egyptian citizens concerned about instability in Egypt in addition to considering the newspaper’s insult of the president an insult to all Egyptians." Judicial investigative bodies have decided to call newspaper Editor in chief Islam Afifi “for investigations and hearings" according to the reports and investigations carried out by the Interior Ministry department for countering publication crimes. Al-Dostor independent newspaper had recently published severe criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood and President Mohammed Morsi following his election.