A Cairo misdemeanor court has fined Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) deputy head Essam El-Erian LE1000 for insulting television anchor Gehan Mansour on air.

According to the court verdict, El-Erian would have to pay an additional LE15,000 to Mansour, who hosts a weekly show on the private Dream television channel, if he repeats his insults to her within the next three years.

The prosecutor-general had referred the case against El-Erian to the misdemeanour court last November after Mansour filed a complaint.

El-Erianhad accused Mansour on air of acquiring foreign funds to attack his party in addition to preventing him from stating his opinion freely on her show in early October.

The top Brotherhood operative has rejected the accusations against him, adding that he tried numerous times to apologise to her.

Mansour, however, stated that the only apology she would have accepted would have been an official apology on air.

El-Erian lost internal elections for the chairmanship of the FJP last October to Saad El-Katatni. He was later appointed to the Shura Council by President Mohamed Morsi.

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