Foreign Press Association criticizes ‘inaccurate coverage’ of Friday attack

CAIRO – 27 November 2017: Chairman of Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Egypt, Volkhard Windfuhr, criticized some foreign media outlets’ coverage of the terrorist attack that hit North Sinai’s Al-Rawdah Mosque on Friday.

In an interview with Al-Hayat, Windfuhr pointed out that foreign media's description of terrorists as militants "was not a coincidence,” noting that there is a difference between the freedom of speech and the spread of rumors.

Scores of people were killed on Friday when a group of terrorists attacked a crowded mosque during prayers in the Sinai Peninsula, setting off explosives and spraying worshippers with gunfire.

Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) strongly deplored BBC’s “inaccurate coverage” of the terrorist attack that hit Al-Rawdah Mosque in Al-Arish city, North Sinai and left 305 killed and 128 injured.

In a press conference on Friday night, the head of SIS, Diaa Rashwan, said that BBC had made “professional mistakes” by describing the worshippers in Al-Rawdah Mosque as “supporters of security forces.”

Rashwan, former head of Egypt's Press Syndicate, added that such false information is unacceptable to be circulated, because it justifies the terrorism against civilians in Egypt.

He also affirmed that the BBC deleted this phrase out of its coverage after he contacted them regarding what was published.

Earlier this month during his participation at the World Youth Forum, Rashwan said that international organizations concerned with the freedom of press and expression must obtain their information from credible sources only.