CAIRO: Egypt has blocked the website of one of its most prominent financial newspapers, the paper’s owner said on Sunday, expanding a media blackout initiated last week to curb what authorities called support for terrorism and fake news.
Egypt blocked access to a number of news websites including Al-Jazeera and Huffington Post Arabic on Wednesday after similar actions by its Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The censorship of Al-Borsa, a widely read financial newspaper that generally steers clear of politics and reflects the views of a largely pro-state business community, suggests a more expansive attempt to control private media coverage.
The website of Al-Boursa’s sister publication, the English-language Daily News Egypt, was also blocked, a statement by parent company Business News said.
“Al-Boursa and Daily News Egypt newspapers express their strong condemnation for the ongoing government campaign to restrict them,” it said.
Egypt last month declared a three-month state of emergency after two suicide bombings at Coptic churches killed more than 45. In an address ushering in a new era of martial law just after the attacks, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned the press to be careful in its reporting.
The company had its assets frozen last December for alleged ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, a charge it denies.
“We point out that all information on our company, its shareholders, financial statements and contracts are available to all relevant government entities,” the company said in a statement on Sunday.
(Editing by Ahmed Aboulenein and David Goodman)
