Board of trustees of Shnit International Short Film Festival decided on December 22, to exclude the Egyptian TV presenter Mona Iraqi from the festival immediately, due to the anchor's ethnic and professional principles. The administration of the Swiss festival announced in a press release published on its official website that shnit is completely distance from and condemn the practices, professional and ethical, employed by Mona Iraqi as a TV reporter, after the episode she aired on December 7 in Cairo, affirming that practices are at utter odds with the principles of the shnit International Short film festival. Iraqi caused widespread condemnation inside and outside Egypt, by the episode she broadcasted earlier this month about gay community in Egypt, she taped a video of men in public bathhouse without their permission, accusing them of homosexuality inside the bathhouse, guiding the police to arrest them in front of TV cameras. 33 men are still in custody, facing accusations of homosexuality and spreading debauchery in the society, because of the episode of Iraqi, aired on al-Qahira wel Nas TV channel, she said she was confronting AIDS in Egypt, spread by homosexuality among men. We thank again those who brought the issue to our attention, and to those who allowed us the due process to make an informed and considered decision," shnit added in the statement.
