Cairo – Egyptian prosecutors released prominent journalist Rasha Qandil on bail Sunday after having questioned her for “broadcasting false information”, her lawyer said.
Qandil, a former presenter with BBC Arabic, was released after paying 50,000 Egyptian pounds (about 880 euros) in bail.
“The prosecutors office accuses her of broadcasting false information inside and outside the country,” lawyer Nabeh el-Ganadi told AFP.
The accusations against were based on complaints from the public about her social media posts, a report from national security officials and an examination of her social media accounts, Ganadi added.
She went of her own accord to be questioned by prosecutors and was now waiting to see if they would file charges of drop the case, the lawyer added.
Qandil is the wife of opposition politician and former presidential candidate Ahmed al-Tantawi, who has been in prison for a year over irregularities in his campaign accounts from the December 2023 presidential campaign.
Tantawi was questioned last month over two other cases, including allegations of “incitement to commit a terrorist act”, according to his lawyer Khaled Ali.
He is due to finish his jail term this month and could be released on Monday, pending the outcome of the new investigations, his lawyer added.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s administration has faced persistent criticism of its human rights record since it came to power in 2014.
Since 2022, the administration has released hundreds of political prisoners, although human rights groups say many more have been detained over the same period.
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Source: AFP
