CAIRO: Egypt’s Media Council decided to suspend TV anchor Mona Iraqi for using “inappropriate” language during an episode discussing rape.
The Media Council, a regulatory body established by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in 2016, said it is has detected Iraqi’s “professional and ethical error on air” while addressing the topic of her episode.
The council said she “used inappropriate phrases that contradict ethical and professional values,” which prompted the decision that led to her suspension.
Hours prior to the decision, the channel airing Iraqi’s program launched an investigation into the host’s previous episodes of her show “Entebah” (meaning attention in Arabic).
The channel’s management said that the language used by Iraqi contradicts the channel’s regulations, which adheres to “good values and principles,” adding that they represent “the channel of the Egyptian family” since its launch 15 years ago.
“The Mehwar channel apologizes to the audience for the inappropriate words used by host Mona Iraqi,” it added in the statement.
Iraqi was sentenced to six months in prison in 2015 with a LE10,000 ($565) bail over charges of “defamation” and broadcasting false news over her controversial filming of a bathhouse raid in December 2014.
Although the verdict was canceled in January 2016, the anchor received backlash at the time for cooperating with police to raid the bathhouse, accusing the 26 men inside of “debauchery”, a blanket legal term for homosexual activity.
Egyptian anchor suspended for using “inappropriate language” on air in episode discussing rape
Egyptian anchor suspended for using “inappropriate language” on air in episode discussing rape
