Court halts prison sentence of TV host Okasha for forging PhD

CAIRO – 20 May 2018: The Nasr City Misdemeanour Court on Monday suspended the prison sentence of Egyptian TV presenter Tawfiq Okasha after his appeal against one-year prison sentence and LE5,000 fine for forging his PhD degree.

Okasha used to own the satellite political-commentary channel Faraeen which was suspended in March 2016 after his parliamentary membership was withdrawn because of after a controversial and unauthorized meeting with outgoing Israeli ambassador Haim Koren. It was later announced that Faraeen would halt operations prior to being sold.

Okasha said that he wanted to discuss various important issues with the Israeli diplomat, including the issue of Palestine and negotiations over Ethiopia’s controversial Renaissance Dam project.

The incident provoked strong reactions from fellow MPs, media figures and members of Okasha’s Daqahlia constituency.