Turkey: Crackdown on Brotherhood media over criticism of Egypt and Gulf states
The Brotherhood’s ranks in Istanbul are experiencing new events as Turkey attempts to reconcile with Egypt and the UAE.
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Turkey set out strict warning rules for members of the group, to stop any abuse or criticism of Egypt and the Gulf states in preparation for rapprochement with it, which has recently been shown to be in violation.
The irregularity demonstrated by the owner of the pro-Brotherhood El-Sharq satellite channel, Ayman Nour, which is broadcasting from Istanbul, suddenly closing its website. He accused what he described as unknown individuals and piracy companies of being involved in the closure of the website and the hacking of his personal phone. The website of the channel was completely shut down last Thursday.
Sources reported that the closure decision was ordered by the Turkish authorities, who warned Ayman Nour not to offer any criticism to Egypt and Egyptian officials from its territories, and not to broadcast any news that harm the reputation of Egypt and the Gulf countries. He added that the Turkish authorities demanded that Ayman Nour withdraw from the site videos and news that were critical of Egypt and some Gulf countries. However, the owner of El Sharq channel delayed implementation of the instructions, only to be surprised after, that his personal phone was hacked and that of another Brotherhood announcer and closed the website.
The Brotherhood’s announcers celebrated the departure of their colleague Moatez Matar to London, and the announcement that he will return to his media activities from there. The celebration also included the fabricated leak of the fugitive Abdullah Al-Sharif, which the Egyptian Ministry of Interior revealed the details of his forgery and his blessing, by scammers who threatened to shut down their social media accounts, restrict their residency, and permanently suspend their activities if the order was repeated.
The same sources revealed that the Brotherhood’s leader, Mohamed Nasser, did not abide by Turkish instructions and is currently posting offensive posts against Egypt and the Egyptian regime on a new Twitter account, known by Brotherhood members rather than his official account.
The Turkish authorities also forced the Muslim Brotherhood’s El Sharq satellite channel to pull a video from its YouTube platform of an episode of the program “Evening of Cairo”. It is presented by Brotherhood broadcaster Sayed Tawakkol after it contained criticism of a Gulf country.
A few weeks ago, Turkish authorities decided to stop the “Vision” program on El Sharq satellite channel. Brotherhood journalist Hossam El-Ghamri stands at screens and media platforms in Istanbul, as a result of not complying with Turkey’s instructions not to criticize Egypt and its officials.
This came after Al-Ghamri attacked Egyptian authorities over the death of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the defense minister and former head of Egypt’s military council, Turkish authorities formally asked channel officials to stop Al-Ghamri from appearing and force him not to provide any media content on social media platforms, accounts, and others in Turkey.
Turkey had previously stopped the programs of journalists Moatez Matar, Mohammed Nasser and Hisham Abdullah via El Sharq and Mekameleen channels as part of its efforts to strengthen its relations with Egypt. However, Brotherhood media professionals have resorted to using social media to broadcast the content that was presented through those channels. On 25 June, Mohamed Nasser announced the suspension of his social media program, which was also preceded by Moataz Matar at the request of the Turkish authorities.
As the second round of exploratory reconciliation talks between Egypt and Turkey began, Ankara decided to prevent those involved in the murder of the Egyptian Attorney General from leaving, and imposed new restrictions on Yahya Moussa and Alaa Al-Samahi. It also ordered Brotherhood members to close a number of their positions in Turkey, vacate a number of their headquarters in Istanbul, and negotiate the handover of 15 Brotherhood leaders convicted of terrorist crimes, stop all Brotherhood activities in the country, and place some under compulsory command.
Turkey has been trying since last February in every way renewing relations with Egypt. It started courting through many statements, then restricted the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood media in Istanbul, and prohibited the granting of nationalities to them and threatening their leaders to accelerate time for Ankara’s first visit to Cairo in May.
The Muslim Brotherhood announced the resumption of its anti-Egypt media activity on satellite channels broadcasting from London, after the decision of the Turkish authorities to stop those activities from its territory.
