Egyptian Attorney General Sadeq
Photo: Egypt Today
Egyptian prosecutor orders probe into New York Times report
Chief prosecutor orders 'urgent' investigation into report by American paper quoting senior Egyptian intelligence official telling TV presenters to downplay President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as capital to sway public opinion in his favor; Times articles 'undermines Egypt's security, public peace, hurts public's interest,' prosecutor says.
Egypt's chief prosecutor has ordered an "urgent" investigation into a New York Times report about recordings purportedly of an intelligence officer instructing TV talk show hosts and a famous actress to downplay President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
A statement by chief prosecutor Nabil Sadeq's office, carried by the official MENA news agency, said the Times' report, published last weekend, "undermines Egypt's security, public peace and hurts the public's interest."
Sadeq's decision followed a flurry of widely publicized condemnation this week of the Times by Egyptian lawmakers, commentators and the State Information Service.
Egyptian Attorney General Nabil Sadeq ordered an investigation into the New York Times' report (Photo: Daily News Egypt)
Michael Slackman, The Times' international editor, was quoted as saying in an article published by the paper on Wednesday that its "story was a deeply reported, consequential piece of journalism."
"We stand fully behind it," Slackman said.
After the Times' article was published, Egypt's State Information Service denied allegations of government attempts to sway public opinion in Trump's favor and said that no officer under the name published in the report worked for the intelligence service.
The government of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, a close Trump ally, has denounced Trump's Jerusalem decision. Also, Egypt was a major force behind a non-binding, but hugely symbolic resolution adopted last month by the UN General Assembly declaring Trump's decision "null and void."
Egyptian President al-Sisi's regime was highly critical of President Trump so far (Photo: MCT)
Since coming to power, al-Sisi has sought to turn most Egyptian media into mouthpieces for his program. Many dissenting television hosts have been pushed off the air, multiple independent news websites have been blocked, and around 20 journalists have been imprisoned.
Thousands of Islamists and secular, pro-democracy activists have been arrested since the military's 2013 ouster of al-Sisi's predecessor, President Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist whose year in office proved divisive.
