Decision To Close BBC’s Cairo Office Postponed

The decision to close down BBC’s Cairo office following allegations that they published a series of false and fabricated news has been postponed by an Egyptian court on Tuesday. The court is to make the decision on BBC’s closure on the 24^th of April.

OSUN DEFENDER recalls that a BBC broadcaster had aired that there were forced disappearances in the country. One of its reports included an interview with a woman, who claimed her daughter had been secretly arrested and imprisoned by Egyptian authorities in April 2017.

In a funny twist of event just like in the movies the daughter, Zubeida, appeared on an Egyptian talk show denying she had been detained or abused in any way several days after her mother had been interviewed.

The mother was arrested on charges of spreading false information.

Egypt’s State Information Service, which runs the foreign correspondents’ press centre, issued a statement demanding that the BBC apologise for the report, which it described as “fabrication.’’

The BBC said that it “stands by the integrity of its reporting teams and that it will be discussing the complaint with Egyptian authorities in the coming days.’’

Rights groups say large-scale human rights abuses have taken place in Egypt since the army’s 2013 overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi following mass protests against his rule.

Authorities have repeatedly called the violations “isolated cases” and vowed to punish wrongdoers.