Media committee to be formed to document Qatar’s violations

CAIRO – 30 July 2017: Several meetings between a large number of law professors, lawyers, journalists and media professionals were held to form a legal committee to confront Qatari and Turkish terrorism in international courts, Lawyer Anwar Rifai, head of the National Center for Defending Freedom of the Press, said Saturday.

Rifai said in a statement that this committee will be a popular one that will support the state in its war against terrorism with the assistance of senior journalists and media professionals who joined the committee to document the crimes of Qatar and Turkey, especially Al-Jazeera.

Qatar’s relations with several Arab states have been strained since May 24 over a leaked statement attributed to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, criticizing Gulf foreign policy with Iran, describing it as “unwise”.

Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad’s recent remarks in which he attacked Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) prompted the major Arab powers to adopt urgent and strict measures towards Doha.

The Qatari crisis was escalated when Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE, along with Yemen and Libya announced a coordinated diplomatic break with Qatar, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. They also closed their airspace and seaports for Qatari transportation.