TV Anchor in Latest Case of Egypt Travel Ban

A prominent television anchor, Amr El Leithy, said he was barred from leaving Egypt on Thursday, in the third case of authorities imposing a travel ban in less than a week.

Leithy, an employee of the private al-Hayat channel, was prevented from taking a flight from Cairo to Dubai with his family, an airport official said.

"There is a legal complaint against El Leithy accusing him of incitement to protest against the state and disturbing social peace," a prosecution official said, requesting anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Leithy in October broadcast an interview with a tuk-tuk taxi driver who harshly criticised the government and state institutions over price increases and a slump in living standards.

"I was shocked by this travel ban, which wasn't relayed to me, and in spite of having no legal investigation against me," Leithy told AFP.

"I will request this decision be investigated, and I will appeal," he said, adding he has already asked for an explanation from the public prosecutor's office.

The prosecutor official said the travel ban was "just an injunction" against Leithy.

Rights lawyer and activist Azza Soliman was prevented from leaving to Jordan on Saturday, and Aida Seif Elldawla, a founder of al-Nadeem center for the rehabilitation of victims of violence, was banned from travel to Tunisia on Wednesday.

Leithy's program was abruptly canceled two days after the controversial tuk-tuk interview was aired, officially because he was going on annual leave.

That episode was watched more than five million times on YouTube, and it was shared thousands of times on social network websites.

Egyptian prosecutors have slapped travel bans on several activists, citing investigations against them or complaints to police filed by non-state lawyers.

"The bans are part of a larger campaign to suppress independent, critical voices inside the country," Human Rights Watch said earlier this month.

"The Egyptian authorities should stop imposing travel bans to prevent human rights defenders from leaving the country and speaking out about Egypt’s appalling human rights record."