CAIRO, March 1 (MENA) - The Higher Council for Media Regulation (HCMR), the body in charge of regulating media transmission, expressed concern over the BBC report on the situation in Egypt, urging it to reconsider its stance and adopt a more professional attitude. In a statement late on Wednesday, the council urged the BBC to respond as quickly as possible to Egypt's evidence-based objections to the report highlighted by the State Information Service (SIS) in its February 24 statement. The SIS also translated into English the TV interview conducted by renowned anchor Amr Adib with Egyptian citizen Zubeida Ibrahim Ahmed to refute claims by the BBC report about her "forced disappearance". The council said the SIS was able to debunk the falsehoods promoted by the BBC report on the situation of human rights in Egypt and prove the non-professional coverage of the BBC to this issue. The HCMR expressed readiness to hold a dialogue with the BBC in this regard, saying "we are trying to gain more friends to Egypt in its war against terrorism, poverty, backwardness and ignorance". The council also called on the BBC to admit its mistakes and say that its report contains inaccuracies and was published without being verified. The BBC report was published online and broadcast last week. It included interviews with activists and other individuals who described police abuses, including a mother who said her daughter Zubeida Ibrahim Ahmed was taken by police a year ago and had not been seen since.
