Cairo: Egypt’s chief prosecutor has ordered an investigation into claims that celebrated actor and rights activist Khalid Aboul Naga had defamed the army and President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi in recent remarks, judicial sources said.
The investigation is based on legal complaints filed by lawyers against Aboul Naga accusing him of insulting the military establishment and inciting protests against Al Sissi, the sources added on condition of anonymity.
Aboul Naga, who last month claimed the best actor prize at the Cairo Film Festival, recently criticised Al Sissi after the Egyptian army started demolishing houses in Sinai near the border with the Palestinian Gaza Strip to create a buffer zone as part of a military campaign against Islamist insurgents in the restive area.
Aboul Naga’s comment made him the target of a ferocious campaign from media loyal to Al Sissi, a former army chief.
Aboul Naga on Thursday declined to comment on investigation reports.
Days earlier, Aboul Naga defended his criticism of Al Sissi who took office in June, a year after leading the army’s removal of Islamist president Mohammad Mursi.
“Being an Egyptian citizen, I expressed my view on the way the president runs the country’s affairs, using my constitutional right,” the actor said in a statement.
“I never imagined that expressing my opinion is unacceptable to the extent of insulting and humiliation from some people.”
Aboul Naga, who is also a TV host, is a familiar face at regional and international film festivals. In 2006, he co-starred with Peter Krause in the US thriller Civic Duty.
Aboul Naga, 48, is a staunch backer of a 2011 uprising that forced long-standing president Hosni Mubarak to step down.
Rights advocates have in recent months voiced concerns about curbs on political dissent in Egypt.
Dozens of pro-democracy campaigners, who mobilised the anti-Mubarak protests, are serving jail terms or being tried on charges of holding unauthorised protests.
