Islamist defamation campaigns against socialist activists target of protest.
The Journalists’ Syndicate witnessed a protest in solidarity with both the Revolutionary Socialists (RS) and Egyptian Anarchists on Monday, as a reaction to a media smear campaign lead by Islamist forces targeting both groups.
Around 100 people gathered at 4pm chanting "social equality comes through socialism." Revolutionary Socialists activist Mostafa El-Fouly says "the campaign against us is supported by the media and political parties who have cooperated with the SCAF in an attempt to defame the movement.”
On 24 December a complaint was filed with Egypt’s prosecutor-general against revolutionary socialists Yasser Abd El-Qawy, Sameh Naguib and Hesham Yousri by Muslim Brotherhood lawyer Gamal Tag El-Din, accusing the movement of inciting violence and aiming for "state demolition."
Tag El-Din later withdrew his complaint, satisfied by assurances from the RS that they were not involved in any acts of violence.
“Defamation campaigns aren`t just targeting RS, they are targeting all revolutionaries,” says Revolutionary Socialists activist Gihan Ibrahim, “RS have always been transparent on their political stance, even before the revolution; we won’t stop fighting.”
The Muslim Brotherhood has denied being involved in filing the complaint against the Revolutionary Socialists, saying that it was a personal move on Tag El-Din`s part and called on him to withdraw the complaint.
The Revolutionary Socialists, however, did not consider Tag El-Din`s move as an individual act as the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party also published on its newspaper’s front page an article stating the same charges. The paper continued its attack on both the Revolutionary Socialists and Anarachists days after the complaint was withdrawn.
On 27 December prominent Islamic scholar Yousif El-Badry, along with eight other lawyers, filed another lawsuit against Sameh Naguib, in what was considered by different poltical groups as an extenstion to the attack on the leftist organization.
[Produced in partnership with Ahram Online.]
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