On 17 March, young journalist Amr Badr was elected as a member of the Press Syndicate’s board council with 778 votes, according to the syndicate’s official figures. After spending nearly four months in detention, a reduced court verdict was issued, sentencing the former Press Syndicate president and his two deputies to a suspended one-year jail term. After the verdict against the syndicate’s former leaders on 25 March, Daily News Egypt sat down with Badr at the syndicate. I reject claims that the syndicate has been politicised, because the syndicate has always held historic stances on matters of public concern. Perhaps the state fears that if the numbers of members of the syndicate grows, the financial burden does as well.

Source: Daily News Egypt April 02, 2017 20:15 UTC