Egypt court upholds suspension of Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr TV station

Monday 21-03-2016 02:09 PM

Logo of Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr. Photo from Ahram Gate news website

CAIRO, Mar 21 (Aswat Masriya) – An Egyptian court upheld on Monday a ruling suspending the broadcast of the Egypt-focused television channel Aljazeera Mubasher Misr, from inside Egypt.

The High Administrative Court also rejected two appeals against the ruling presented by State Lawsuits Authority and the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera Channel.

The State Lawsuits Authority represents the State before national and international courts and arbitrary tribunals.

Today's court ruling is final and cannot be appealed.

The channel's suspension decision dates back to Sep. 2014. The channel however did not suspend its broadcast until Dec. of the same year, saying that the suspension would last "until the circumstances are appropriate". 

Al Jazeera’s Cairo bureau was shut down after the military ouster of then-President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013 following mass protests against his rule.

The Qatari channel, which adopts the slogan of providing “the opinion and the other opinion,” has long been accused of supporting Egypt’s Islamist political factions, especially the Muslim Brotherhood.

Since Mursi's ouster, Egypt has launched a severe crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood figures and their supporters. The group was designated "a terrorist organisation" in Dec. 2013.

Three Al Jazeera journalists, Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Australian journalist Peter Greste were arrested in Dec. 2013 on charges of defaming Egypt and spreading false news.

Greste was released and deported in Feb. 2015 while Fahmy and Mohamed remained in jail until the issuance of presidential decree pardoning them in September.

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