CAIRO: An Egyptian man filed a lawsuit in Cairo against ON TV, a privately owned television channel, and few of its hosts as well as al-Jazeera, demanding that the two channels stop their transmission over allegations that they are “inciting people against each other” and “hurting the relationship between the people and the police,” arguing that the channels are spreading chaos. The man, identified by al-Fagr newspaper as political researcher Ahmed Montaser, called on the Egyptian general prosecutor to investigate Yousri Fouda, host of Akher Kalam, or the “Last Words,” his colleague Reem Maged from “Balandana Bel Masry”, or “Our Country in Egyptian” and Hala Sarhan, host of Nas Book talk show on Rotana satellite channel. The newspaper quoted the lawsuit report that said that Fouda and Maged's shows aim to “spread chaos” and plant doubts against the ruling military council. Monataser also accused Sarhan of “inciting hate between citizens and the police” and called her guests “a minority of destruction invitees.” Political talk shows such as those mentioned in the lawsuit have been criticized by affiliates of the old regime for discussing current issues and exposing corruption fearlessly. Fouda chose to suspend his show for weeks after an airing of an episode featuring renowned writer Alaa al-Aswany was cancelled. He later returned to his beloved show under public pressure. The man also accused al-Jazeera of “inciting viewers to commit acts of violence” and “occupying public institutions through its Cairo office.” Al-Jazeera's Mubashir Masr, the local brand of the network, was raided by military police in late September after airing a live transmission of the clashes that took place outside the Israeli embassy. The minister of information at the time said al-Jazeera Mubashir Masr “lacked the proper licenses and documentation” to remain on air. While the legal team at al-Jazeera work on getting these permits, the transmission was moved to Doha, Qatar, the base operations of the network. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/5Qvtu Tags: Al Jazeera, featured, Lawsuit, ON TV, Yousri Fouda Section: Egypt, Latest News, Media
