Cairo October 1, 2012
ANHRI welcomes the decree of the Shoura Council, issued on Sunday, in respect of ceasing all the previous decrees that grant, the former national newspapers chairmen of the board of directories and chief- editors, in-kind benefits and cease all the bounces they obtained.

ANHRI’s lawyers in their capacity as the lawyers of the journalist “Khairia Mohamed Abudlatif Sa’alan”, the deputy editor manger and member of the board of directories of the Middle-East News Agency and the journalist “Khaled Mohamed Ahmed”, have brought the lawsuit before the administrative court against the follows:

Mr. President of the Shoura Council in his Capacity;
Mr. Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Press in his Capacity; and
Mr. Chairman of the Board of Directories of Middle-East News Agency.

To urgently demand the ceasing of the negative decree represented in refusing to issue a decree of ceasing all the amounts, grants and tangible and in-kind benefits in all of its forms, which were given to the former national newspapers chairmen of the board of directories and chief- editors after the end of the working relationship between them and their institutions in conjunction with all of its affections in particularly given back all the amounts given to them unjustly which are estimated of millions of EGP.

On July 10, 2012 the first hearing of the administrative court was held and the court decree to commit the lawsuit State Commissioners Authority.Before the issuance of the report of the said Authority, on Sunday the Shoura Council issued its decree answering all the demands of the lawsuit due to the justice of the demand as it will save millions of Egyptian pounds that were given to undue persons. But the Shoura Council regressed to apply the decree in retrospective manner citing the practical hardships that will face restoring all the amounts previously given unjustly.

ANHRI said “the decree is a positive step and a beginning to address wasting the public money in some national newspapers institutions. The Shoura Council should have insisted the first draft of the decree which stipulates to implement the decree in a retrospective manner regardless any practical obstacles to endorse the principle of the rule of law and achieve the public interest of restoring all the wasted rights of the state. We hope that this decree could be followed by a group of procedures that aim to reform the national newspapers institutions whether related to the editorial policies or to the administrative and finical aspects”.