Why was pro-government Egyptian TV host taken off air?
Another talk show has been banned in Egypt, but this time the offender is staunchly pro-regime, suggesting the Egyptian government's already low tolerance for dissent is reaching extremes.
CAIRO — Egypt’s prominent TV host Ibrahim Eissa’s show on Al-Kahera Wal-Nas TV was taken off the air Jan. 1 after official quarters declared its content to be offending and deriding toward the regime's policies.
In a statement after the show was suspended, Eissa — who was once a staunch supporter and close associate of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s regime and the first to announce his candidacy for president — said Jan. 1, “I think that the course of events and the necessities of the times have all led me to leave the show for later or a time that could come in the future.” During televised remarks on BBC Arabic Jan. 12, he explained, "The public is well-aware of the pressure placed on us. The regime has gotten so impatient with my show and other issues. The regime is no longer tolerating any criticism of its policies.”
It is the first time that a pro-regime show has been banned from broadcasting. Other shows by presenters labeled as oppositionists or criticizing the regime’s policies, particularly those related to detainees and freedoms in Egypt, have ended up being canceled as well.
Following the 2013 revolution and Sisi’s ascension to power in June 2014, popular TV shows were suspended, such as those of Bassem Youssef and Reem Maged, upon the orders of the Egyptian authorities. The talk shows of media figures such as Mahmoud Saad, Jaber al-Karmouty and Yosri Fouda were also suspended after the owners of the satellite TV stations came under pressure.
