The editor of Egypt's Al-Dustour newspaper Ibrahim Eissa has been sacked by the paper's publisher after being instructed not to run a feature by the leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei. Eissa's co-workers have staged a sit in protest of the dismissal.
Eissa, known for his satirical articles against the government, said he was not given the exact reason for the dismissal but that it came, "hours after the publishers told me they didn't want me to run an article written by Mohamed ElBaradei."
ElBaradei, the former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has emerged as a leading opposition figure since returning to Egypt in February. Al-Dustour was recently purchased by another opposition leader and head of the Al-Wafd Party Elseyed el-Badawi. The Wafd party refused to back ElBaradei's decision to boycott the upcoming elections, which critics say might be rigged.
In 2008, Eissa was sentenced to two months in prison for offending President Hosni Mubarak after he reported about his deteriorating health. It is yet unclear whether Hosni Mubarak will run for a sixth term in 2011 or whether he will be succeeded by his son Gamal.
Source: BBC News
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