Ahmed Fahmi, head of Egypt's Shura Council (the upper, consultative house of parliament) and head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Journalism (SCJ), replaced the editor-in-chief of state daily Al-Gomhouriya Gamal Abdel-Rehim on Wednesday with Abdel-Azim El-Babli, pending the SCJ's approval.
The decision came after the newspaper published a front-page report in its Wednesday edition claiming that former ruling generals Hussein Tantawi and Sami Annan had both been slapped with travel bans.
The report was quickly denied by government officials.
Former Egyptian Journalists Syndicate board member Yehia Qlash described Abdel-Rehim's abrupt dismissal as "dangerous and unacceptable."
Qlash told Ahram Online that the move "deviates from the many methods available to penalise mistakes" and "opens the door to despotism."
On his Facebook page, Qlash urged members of the public to register their opposition to the move.
