Egypt’s satellite channel Mehwar issued an official statement on Monday in response to the cancellation of a TV interview with the former head of the country’s anti-corruption agency Hisham Geneina.
The channel said the broadcast of such material could constitute prejudice and also interfere in the work of the judiciary.
"The channel is driven by respect for the rule of law and judiciary and understands the consequences of broadcasting any form of media content related to a case that is still undergoing judicial procedures,'' the statement read.
Geneina was set to talk about the circumstances of his recent trial, in addition to other issues related to his investigation into state corruption.
“The channel’s legal team decided to postpone Mehwar’s broadcast of the interview with the former head of Central Auditing Organisation until a final judicial verdict in the case is reached," according to the Monday statement.
Geneina’s interview anchor Moataz El-Demerdash was scheduled to go ahead in the second part of the 90 Minutes talk show on Saturday evening, and had been trailed for three days in advance.
The decision to pull the interview has been widely discussed online and by local media, with critics blaming the cancellation on political pressure from authorities.
Geneina headed Egypt's Central Auditing Organisation, the main state corruption watchdog, from 2012 until March 2016, when he was relieved of his duties by a presidential decree.
Geneina's dismissal came after he was quoted by a local newspaper saying that the amount of funds embezzled in corruption in the country exceeded EGP 600 billion.
A statement by the general prosecution office alleged that Geniena’s claim’s of corruption figures were inaccurate, citing testimonies that said his corruption findings include records stretching years back to 2008 and not just 2015.
He was accordingly removed from his post by a presidential decree last March and is facing trial on accusations of making "false" claims about widespread government corruption.
In July he was sentenced to a year in prison for "spreading false news," which was suspended on payment of a fine.
The case appealing the decision to remove Geneina from his position was postponed last Tuesday due to a change of judges.
The new court will rehear the defence on 20 December.
