Khairy Ramdan (photo: Ahram gate)
A Cairo prosecution office has released Egyptian state TV presenter Khairy Ramadanon on EGP 10,000 bail pending investigations into charges of "defaming police."
Last night Cairo prosecutors ordered Ramadan's detention for four days after an episode of his show Masr El-Naharda (Egypt Today) dealing with the issue of humble police salaries aired on 18 February.
In the episode, Ramadan said he received a message from the wife of a police colonel complaining of low police wages, which she said was an issue “faced by all police officers."
Known as a vocal supporter of the government, Khairy is accused of publishing and broadcasting “fake news and statements against the police force, therefore defaming it.”
The investigation was opened due to a complaint against the host filed by Egypt's Interior Ministry following the episode's broadcast on Al-Oula, a state-run television channel that has recently been revamped to regain its status as Egypt's pioneering channel.
During a private meeting with Ramadan, the unidentified woman discussed the hardships faced by her household due to her husband’s low salary. Ramadan was outspoken on the issue, showing his support for the woman during the episode.
This is not the first time that one of Ramadan’s nighttime broadcasts has been widely criticized for the issues discussed.
In February 2016, his show Momken (It's Possible) on privately-owned channel CBC was suspended after a guest allegedly "insulted" women from Upper Egypt.
The show hosted Taymour El-Sobky, the then-administrator of Diary of a Suffering Man, a Facebook group with over 1 million followers.
El-Sobky claimed on the show that Egyptian women – especially from Upper Egypt – have a tendency to cheat on their husbands.
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