News Room
Admin Group
Joined: 07/25/2004
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6560
|
Posted: 10/13/2015 at 2:57pm
|
IP Logged
|
|
|
Urgent prayers requested by SAT-7 Cairo
(Photo courtesy SAT 7/Outside of SAT-7 Cairo offices)
Egypt (SAT7/MNN) — Some disconcerting news just broke for SAT-7 Arabic in Cairo, Egypt. On Saturday 10th October, President of SAT-7 USA,
Rex Rogers explains, “The authorities in Cairo came unannounced to
SAT-7’s offices with search warrants.” These were officers from Egypt’s
Censorship Department, he says, adding, “They took equipment, they took
materials, and they took the executive director and detained him,
suggesting that we didn’t have a series of licenses to operate the
facility.”
The Office Director, Mr. Farid Samir, was detained for 6 hours but
then released after an 11 October hearing at the Public Prosecutor’s
Office. “He has to return, however, because there are still some legal
issues that have to be worked through.” Rogers says Samir faces four
charges relating to operating a satellite TV channel without the
necessary licenses, although the SAT-7 Egypt office is a program
production facility and not a satellite broadcast center for any of the
SAT-7 channels.
(Photo courtesy SAT-7/Executive Director SAT-7 Cairo, Farid Samir)
”We can say ‘Praise God!’ Through our local protestant Church under
which we operate there in Cairo, we had an appropriate attorney. In
fact, there were three attorneys present,” notes Rogers, adding that the
attorneys were able to answer almost all of the charges. (The work of
SAT-7 Egypt is carried out under the legal umbrella of the Coptic
Evangelical Church, but its services are in support of all the Church
denominations in Egypt.) According to information released through SAT-7
International, throughout the course of the hearing, it soon became
clear that all charges are based on a lack of and/or incorrect
information.
A decision will be taken by the Public Prosecutor in the next few
days concerning whether this case will go to court. Rogers says, “As far
as we know, we’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. We have the
appropriate licensures and approvals. This is a misunderstanding, but
unfortunately, it could cost us.”
In
the meantime, the confiscated equipment remains in police custody.
What’s happening to the normal activities of SAT-7 in Egypt? “They shut
it down. One of the charges was that we didn’t have a license to do
editing kinds of things, so they took equipment. We were not able to go
on the air Saturday evening with a very important program.” That’s not
to say SAT-7 is blank in Cairo. Rogers says, “We’re still broadcasting
through our Beirut studios, rather than through SAT-7 Egypt, Cairo
studios. People can pray that this will be resolved. SAT-7 or our
director could incur a fine.”
Though facing challenges, the SAT-7 team in Egypt remains encouraged
by the love and support they have received over this difficult weekend.
Of Samir, Rogers says, “This is not resolved. It’s not over. Pray for
them on a very personal level.” The situation has been stressful for the
young family. Pray for SAT-7, that God would protect His ministry and
its resources. In the period following his hearing, Samir invited the
body of Christ to “unite with us in prayer so that we can complete our ministry – one based on love and which aims to serve our beloved country [Egypt]”. Source: Mission Network
News
Edited by News Room on 10/13/2015 at 2:58pm
|