埃及加強媒體監督，新聞自由團體疾呼停止恐嚇
Egypt's top state prosecutor has ordered his staff to closely monitor all news and social media outlets and take action against any they deem to be "hurting national interests."
In a statement issued Wednesday, Egypt's Prosecutor-General Nabil Sadek said the order comes "in light of recently observed attempts by the 'forces of evil' to undermine the security and safety of the country through publishing lies and fake news through different media outlets and social media."
Prosecutors should take legal action against media outlets that disseminate "false news, statements or rumors" that could instill "terror" in society, hurt the public interest or disrupt peace. Media regulatory bodies must notify prosecutors of violations by media outlets," the statement said.
Sadek's directive is part of a larger government crackdown on the media ahead of scheduled presidential elections next month in which President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is running virtually unopposed.
The U.S.-based journalism watchdog group, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), asked Egypt to "immediately cease their intimidation campaign against independent news outlets, and let journalists report freely."
The order comes as the government is demanding that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) retract a story aired over the weekend that mentioned the case of a mother who claimed her daughter was the victim of state enforced disappearance. The young woman appeared Monday on a local TV station to refute her mother's claims.
Egypt’s State Information Service, which regulates foreign media in the country, has called on the BBC to retract its story or face a government boycott.
BBC is standing by its reporting.埃及檢察長沙戴克指令下屬嚴密監控所有新聞和社交媒體，對“有損國家利益”的媒體採取行動。
沙戴克星期三發表聲明說，發佈這一指令的原因是最近發現，有“邪惡勢力”企圖藉助各種媒體渠道和社交媒體，通過發佈謊言和假新聞，削弱國家安全。
聲明說，檢察官們應該對那些散佈“假新聞、聲明或謠言”，在社會中製造“恐慌”，傷害公共利益或破壞和平的媒體機構採取法律行動。媒體監督機構也必須將媒體違規現象報告給檢察機關。
沙戴克的最新指令是埃及政府在下個月總統大選前打壓媒體的行動之一。在即將舉行的選舉中，現任總統塞西幾乎沒有競選對手。
總部設在美國的新聞自由監督團體，保護記者委員會要求埃及“立即停止對獨立新聞機構的恐嚇行動，允許記者自由報道。”
沙戴克發表這一指令前，埃及政府剛剛要求英國廣播公司撤回上週末的一條報道。在報道中，一位母親說自己的女兒被國家強制失蹤。她的女兒星期一在一家地方電視臺上露面，否認了母親的指稱。
埃及負責監管外媒的機構要求英國廣播公司撤回報道，否則就要受到政府抵制。
英國廣播公司堅持報道內容。
