Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Egypt deports critical tv-presenter the day she ends contract with new rightist owner of the station

Popular Lebanese TV host Liliane Daoud was arrested from her home in Cairo on Monday night, taken to an undisclosed location and then put aboard an EgyptAir flight to Beirut, said Daoud’s lawyer Zyad Elelaimy. Eight members of the security forces stormed her home earlier that evening. It was the same day she ended her contract with ONtv.
The security forces refused to allow Daoud to make a phone call or to take her phone with her when they apprehended her, Elelaimy said. Her Egyptian ex-husband, Khaled El-Berry, was coincidentally present at her home during the arrest while picking up their ten-year-old daughter for dinner. "They gave [Daoud] exactly five minutes. They refused to allow her to take anything with her except her wallet. They also refused to let her call a lawyer or the [Lebanese] embassy," El-Berry wrote on his Facebook account.
Daoud was one of the few critical voices to remain in Egyptian media after former President Mohamed Morsi was ousted in 2013. There had been uncertainty surrounding the fate of her show, "The Full Picture," since state-supporting steel tycoon Ahmed Abu Hashima acquired ONtv from its former owner Naguib Sawiris in May. Abu Hshima is one of the keading people behind Thhe New Future Party, which sttrongly backs president El-Sisi.
"The Full Picture” has broadcast on ONtv for the past five years. Daoud used the show as a platform for staunch criticism of some of the current government's practices, such as forced disappearances and political detentions. Elelaimy said the authorities have been withholding the renewal of Daoud’s work visa for the last four months.
Daoud was not the only one to leave ONtv following the acquisition. Mohamed al-Garhy, the producer of “Manchette” program presented by Gaber al-Karmouty announced on Sunday that both he and Karmouty would be leaving the channel .

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