CAIRO: The president of the liberal al-Wafd party must apologize to the Egyptian people, said the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) on Monday. The network said in a statement that ElSayed el-Badawy must apologize for “participating in closing al-Dostor newspaper and serving Mubarak's interests.” ANHRI also said el-Badawy must act to reserve the rights of the tens of journalists who quit the paper in respect of the journalists' honor charter after the change in the paper's editorial policy. El-Badawy bought al-Dostor, an independent newspaper known for being critical of the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak, in late 2010. “Millions of Egyptians were deprived of their favorite newspaper and the rights of tens of journalists were wasted,” said a statement released by ANHRI. “The management is stalling in giving them their rights as they refused to work after changing the editorial policy to appease Mubarak regime.” The network said el-Badawy had “a deal with Mubarak to close down al-Dostor in return for parliament seats,” calling it an internal issue which al-Wafd must investigate “according to the principles and policy of the party.” “The crime of silencing a bold paper and depriving Egyptians of it is a public crime for which el-Badawi has to apologize,” the statement added. BM
