AhlulBayt News Agency

source : Reuters
Monday

11 July 2011

7:30:00 PM
252978

Egypt to block broadcast of pro-Gaddafi TV channels

An Egypt court has ruled that 14 Libyan channels be removed from satellite network broadcast in light of inaccurate news on Muammar Gaddafi's opposition

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The channels affiliated to the Libyan leader's government spread "false information about the revolution in Libya against his rule," lawyers who brought the action said, according to news agency MENA.

The channels would no longer be shown via Nilesat satellites, which are owned by Egypt and run by the state broadcasting union, the court said.

Nilesat is the dominant commercial satellite network for the Middle East and North Africa and its footprint covers Libya, including the rebel-held east, its website said.

More than 40 million households viewed its channels in 2009, it said, without providing viewing figures for the Libyan channels.

The main Libyan state TV stations dedicate much of their airtime to reporting pro-Gaddafi demonstrations, the leader's anti-Western speeches and patriotic folk music.

Their news programmes mostly portray the rebels as dangerous armed thugs or followers of Al Qaeda.

Egypt's military rulers have avoided taking sides in the civil war in neighbouring Libya but have kept the border open, ensuring supplies can reach the rebels.

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