An Egyptian television agency boss was charged by a Cairo court Monday over helping to broadcast images of protesters tearing down portraits of President Hosni Mubarak during deadly food riots in April, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported.
Nader Gohar, who owns the Cairo News Company, was charged with not having a licence to provide satellite feed facilities to foreign channels following a complaint by the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, a judicial official told AFP. Gohar, who is currently in Paris, said he has been falsely accused of the broadcasting breach, which carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.
The AFP report elaborated:
Three civilians were killed by police during two days of rioting in the Nile Delta industrial city of Mahalla on April 6-7. Demonstrations called to protest rising food prices turned violent when police used rubber-coated bullets and tear-gas on protesters who tore down billboard images of Mubarak.
Footage of the posters being torn down—a crime against the president under Egyptian law—and the subsequent violence could be seen on many television stations and on the Internet.
The court, which ordered Gohar's arrest ahead of the next hearing on May 26, has already ordered the agency's offices searched and impounded five satellite dishes used for broadcasting and a vehicle.
Gohar told AFP by telephone that he doesn't think he will be arrested before the trial. "I think I have been falsely accused of having cooperated with Al-Jazeera satellite channel on April 6 in Mahalla, and of having allowed the channel to use my station to air the footage of protestors tearing down pictures of Mubarak," he said. "So far my lawyer has been refused access to my file," he said.
Gohar admitted that his licence had expired and said his request to the judge that he be given a few days grace to sort out the paperwork had been rejected.
