MB Media Advisor Condemns Crackdown On MB Publishing Houses

Chairman of Muslim Brotherhood Media Department Assem Shalaby has strongly condemned the government’s crackdown on publishing houses and bookshops owned by MB members ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.

Shalaby, who is also a publisher, dismissed the crackdown as “an illegal assault on the inviolability of personal properties and another series of attacks on freedom of expression.”

He added that all the stormed companies and bookshops are licensed and sell normal religious and academic books that are sold in other bookstores across the country.

For two consecutive days, state security forces have been storming bookstores and publishing houses owned by MB members across Egypt, claiming that they haven’t yet obtained a license.

In Cairo, security officers attacked Al Bashir Publishing House owned by MB member Alaa Zahzoh and seized 12 computers and nine boxed with books that are worth LE 20,000. Zahzoh showed security officials his company’s licenses, yet they insisted on confiscating books.

In Al Sharkiyya governorate, security officers seized a number of religious books and gifts worth LE 200,000 from Al Fayrouz bookstore, while its owner denied that his books have any illegal content. They also seized all the licenses of the company, and all related documents.

Al Nour Company for Media Production was also a target of the crackdown. It is one of the largest multimedia productions companies in Egypt. Police seized VCR recording devices that are worth two million Egyptian pounds, its owner Ahmed Abdou said.

In the Upper Egypt Qena governorate, ten computers that worth LE 23,000 were seized by police from “High Quality” multimedia company.  

Further, Giza security forces stormed on Monday a bookshop owned by Ahmed Qomah, MB leader in Giza governorate, and arrested the director of the bookshop Nagi Abdullah.