Masr Al-Arabiya chief editor arrested over 'unlicensed' website

CAIRO – 4 April 2018: A statement from the Interior Ministry on Wednesday revealed that the Egyptian security forces have arrested the editor-in-chief of news website Masr Al-Arabiya’s, Adel Sabry, on charges of operating a website without a license.

According to sources on the website, security forces raided the office of the website in Dokki district in Giza, on Tuesday evening and closed the office.

The incident comes two days after Egypt's state-run Supreme Media Council (SCMR) announced imposing a fine of LE 50,000 ($2836) on the website for republishing a New York Times’ report of alleged violations during the 2018 presidential election.

According to media reports, a member of the Egyptian Press Syndicate’s board said the syndicate will respond to the incident following a formal decision by the general prosecution regarding Sabry.

In May 2017, Egyptian authorities decided to ban 21 news websites including Masr Al-Arabiya and Qatari-based Al-Jazeera for "supporting terrorism and publishing fake news."

Egyptian independent newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm was also fined LE 150,000 ($8,527) for publishing an article that discussed how the state institutions interfered in the 2018 presidential election.

Abdel Latif el-Menawy, managing director of Al-Masry Al-Youm, apologized earlier on Friday for the “inaccurate wording” of the headline.