Video: SIS translates Zubeida's TV interview to English to debunk BBC report

CAIRO – 28 February 2018: The Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) has translated the full interview of Zubeida Ibrahim, where she refuted the BBC’s claims of her enforced disappearance, into English to reach a wider audience, and debunk the incorrect image of Egypt currently circulating.


Watch the video translated:




According to a Wednesday statement, the SIS said that it aims to circulate the translated interview in order to reach “a wider target of media bodies and public opinion outside the Arab world to better debunk falsehoods about the situation of human rights in Egypt, of which the BBC correspondent’s report is a perfect example.”

The SIS stated that it refutes the “professional errors and violations as well as allegations about the situation in Egypt” that were mentioned in the BBC report.

The statement also called on the dissemination, distribution and broadcast of this translated interview on the widest possible scale “until truth of the incident has been fully elucidated and bias, errors and violations in some press and media coverage, inconsistent with the internationally recognized norms and regulations, have been eliminated.”

Egypt’s Attorney General Nabil Sadeq ordered the head of prosecutors to take all legal and penal actions against media outlets and websites that deliberately publish false news about Egypt, according to a Wednesday statement.

According to the statement, heads of prosecutions, in their jurisdictions, should “take necessary legal measures against media outlets that publish rumors that may disturb public security or terrify people, or harm the public interest of the Egyptian state.”

Sadeq further asked all authorities responsible for regulating media and social media in the country “to notify the Public Prosecution with any violations against media and publishing ethics,” in accordance with their professional commitment and its national role.

The decision comes after the BBC aired a report on an Egyptian woman claiming she had forcibly disappeared; however, the woman, Zubeida Ibrahim, later refuted the claims on TV.

In response, the Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) released a statement on Tuesday calling on Egyptian officials and intellectual sectors on Tuesday to boycott the BBC until it issues an official apology over publishing an inaccurate report on forced disappearances in Egypt.

The SIS’s Chairperson Diaa Rashwan demanded that people refrain from giving statements to the BBC; however, he assured that the boycott will not breach the British network’s media and legal rights to operate in Egypt, like any other foreign media outlet.

On Tuesday, the head of the National Media Authority, Hussein Zein, ordered the suspension of cooperation with the BBC until further notice.

In the same context, a number of parliamentarians collected signatures and prepared notes to sue the BBC before international courts.

In his speech before the 37th session of the Human Rights Council on Tuesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry refuted on Tuesday the false allegations made about Egypt by the British channel BBC, stressing that journalism in Egypt is free.

He further confirmed that Egypt hosts many foreign media networks, expressing his regret for the unprofessional media networks that depend on spreading fake information to achieve certain political interests.