Cairo International Airport authorities have prevented Kuwaiti columnist and outspoken critic of the Kuwaiti government Mohammed al-Washeehy from entering Egypt, despite a prosecution decision last July to investigate the journalist in a defamation suit filed by Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Muhammad. The defamation charges were based on two articles published in the Egyptian newspaper Al-Dostour. An airport security official said the journalist was denied entrance because of the criticisms. For years, al-Washeehy has made it his mission to criticize Prime Minister al-Muhammed. "Dear respectable, unfortunate Egyptians, I swear if you were governed by our Prime Minister, rotten satellite channels would broadcast that would distract you from following the government's fiascos," al-Washeey said in one of the Al-Dostour articles involved in the suit. "After Sheikh Nasser Mohammed was exposed and later interrogated by parliamentarians for paying off members of the House of Representatives to ensure their loyalties, objections were raised that it was his money and he could do with it as he wished. Is it ok then for a student to pass a check over to his teacher while he is supervising him in an exam?" al-Washeey added. Kuwait openly opposed Al-Dostour's decision to run the articles. Despite a desire to maintain good relations with its Arab League partner, Egypt said freedom of expression laws prevented government interference. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
