CAIRO: The Faraeen TV Channel announced early Friday that its owner and principal anchor Tawfiq Okasha was arrested while he was leaving the Egyptian Media Production City, which hosts private channels.
Social media users circulated a picture of a message broadcast by the Faraeen private channel announcing the Okasha was arrested “without a charge, and he is now detained at Nasr City police station.”
Caption: Faraeen TV Channel announcing Okasha’s detention- photo courtesy of @Ya5abar Twitter account
Watan newspaper quoted Okasha’s ex-wife Reda el-Kerdawy, who said that Okasha was arrested after a final sentence was issued, ordering his detention for six months in a libel suit that she had filed against him.
Kerdawy said that she filed a lawsuit against Okasha after he claimed she belongs to Al-Qaeda organization or the Islamic State (IS) group, and that she plans to murder him, according to her statements to Watan newspaper.
She added that she won an alimony case against Okasha; however, he refrains from paying her and her son Youssef the monetary amount set.
Okasha, a controversial TV presenter, has been standing trial since July, along with former President Mohamed Morsi, renowned activist Alaa Abdel Fatah and other Muslim Brotherhood figures over “insulting judiciary.” Their next court hearing is scheduled for October 1.
Although the Faraeen Channel has been on air until he was reportedly arrested early Friday, he had announced in April he is closing his channel after he was burdened with debts that amount to 11 million EGP ($1 million.)