An Egyptian beauty contest company is accusing the paper An Nabaa, already under fire for sparking Coptic Christians to riot, with labeling its executives as “slave merchants” running an international prostitution ring, according to a report by Al Gomhuria Arabic daily.
A criminal court will next Monday examine the suit against the newspaper’s editor in chief and one of its journalists, which was filed by Yousef Fadhel Siyahi, manager and partner of Face to Face Co.
An Nabaa is currently facing several other suits in connection with a story on the alleged sexual antics of a Coptic monk, who later turned out to have been defrocked by the church. The articles sparked fierce rioting in the Coptic Christian community, as well as legal action.
Siyahi’s company, which organizes Miss Egypt contests, filed the suit targeting Mamdouh Mahran, An Nabaa’s editor in chief, and one of its journalists.
The company’s lawyer said that Face to Face Co. had a license to organize the contests, which he claimed played a role in enhancing tourism.
The lawyer added that An Nabaa had spoiled the reputation of the company’s executives and labeled them merchants of white slaves who returned to the dark ages when slave women were sold in the markets.
An Nabaa was quoted as saying in a press report as saying that “the company makes dubious arrangements and attempts to enroll Egyptian queens of beauty in a prostitution ring.”
The lawyer said that the elements of slander were evident in the An Nabaa report about the company, and demanded that the court punish the accused severely and fine them as temporary compensation for the financial and moral harm inflicted on the company’s manager and his partners - Albawaba.com
