Moussa
under fire for alleged obscene footage of MP
Dec.
16, 2015 19:30
Members
of Press Syndicate are petitioning to refer Moussa to
investigations and cancel his membership after his “violation.” Some
social media users called on boycotting the Sada el-Balad TV channel and
its advertising companies.
During
his program “On My responsibility” aired on Sada el-Balad TV channel Monday
night, Moussa displayed pictures he claimed they show director Youssef and
undressed women engaging in “impropriety.”.
“We
have lots of pictures,” said Moussa during his show, although he said he is
not sure of their authenticity and did not reveal their sources.
Instead,
he asked Youssef, who was recently elected as a parliamentarian, to “prove
whether the pictures are real or manipulated” and to “acquit himself before the
public.”
The
anchor considered what he did by broadcasting the footage as “professionalism,”
justifying this by saying that the media role is to oversee the parliament and
its members, “this is our role [media]…we will be after each parliamentarian.”
“These
footages are 100 percent fabricated, but my case is bigger than the pictures,”
Parliamentarian Youssef said during a Tuesday interview with Al-Nahar TV
Channel.
Youssef
continued, “I tell everyone I am not a defendant as long as the prosecution did
not charge me.” He added that he has all evidences to prove his innocence,
which he will present before the prosecution, and that he will seek the legal
route against everyone defamed him.
A
lawsuit was filed accusing Youssef of harassing the wife of the dean of the
faculty of literature at Alexandria
University
“Why
now?” Youssef asked during the TV interview, adding that he has been working
with movie stars in Egypt
Media
backlash
Many
journalists and TV presenters harshly directed accusations against Moussa for
“giving himself a right he does not owe” by violating personal lives and
judging people.
“Is
this the role of the journalist to broadcast pictures from the personal life of
any citizen? Of course, not,” Presenter Ramy Radwan said on TEN TV channel
Tuesday. “This is a violation to Article 57 in the constitution that guarantees
respect to personal life.”
The
article says personal data on emails, letters, phone calls and any other mean
of communication is “inviolable.”
For
Anchor Youssef el-Housseiny, he said “I want to know President Abdel Fatah
al-Sisi’s stance on this chaotic scene…why the president is standing in the
position of onlooker not actor?”
The
head of liberties committee at the Press Syndicate, Khaled el-Balshy, noted
that there is an “urgent need for adopting laws regulating the media without
waiting until the holding of the parliament,” in statements to CBC TV channel.
It
is not the first time Moussa is accused of libel. His insults to activists as
well as to the January
25 Revolution by describing it as a “conspiracy” resulted in outrage.
Comments
on social media leaned to comparisons between Moussa and other presenters who
similarly faced public rage after accusations of violating media ethics.
A
trial session was set on Nov.25 for the controversial TV anchor Reham Saeed for
defaming a victim of assault, by broadcasting
private pictures of her claiming she provoked the offender.
Subsequently,
different corporations sponsoring Saeed’s show announced they will no longer
advertise in it.
In
May 2014, TV presenter Abdel Raheem Ali was acquitted of libel charge after
leaking phone calls to prominent activists on his show the “Black Box.” His
airing of these recordings attracted wide fears of a return to the old regime
policies against opposition.
TV
reporter Mona Iraqi has filmed the arrest of 26 men dragged half-naked over
charges of “engaging in homosexual prostitution.” Iraqi faced a fierce attack
by activists while the men were acquitted in
January.
Media Drummers
