After holding a burial shroud on-air on her Sunday evening show to protest the Muslim Brotherhood, state media presenter Hala Fahmy said state TV cut the transmission of her program.

Fahmy told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the director told her that the rest of her show would be recorded and aired later, to which she objected and left the studio in protest.

She said the episode was discussing the political situation in Egypt. At one point during the show, she brought out a white burial shroud and said, “Anybody should tell the truth whatever it costs, and carry his shroud in his own hands,” and the show was taken off the air minutes later.

Traditionally, when an Egyptian carries a burial shroud, this means that their life is at risk, or that they are preparing for their own funeral.

Fahmy described the incident as indicative of the intimidation that workers in the Maspero state TV building are facing. She argued that cutting a live broadcast requires a clearance from the information minister, adding that the move squanders public funds and denies people access to different opinions.

“A number of TV workers have been subjected to frequent threats to abstain from content that provokes officials,” she said.

Fahmy said she and her guests would submit a police complaint accusing Information Minister Salah Abdel Maqsoud of squandering public funds.

Meanwhile, Al-Nahar satellite channel’s director, Alaa al-Kahky, said the channel’s lawyer had informed him that the president's office has brought a case against Al-Nahar presenter Mahmoud Saad and his guest, Manal Omar, a psychologist. The petition accuses the pair of libeling the president by describing him as a “despot” and “mentally ill,” and asking him to step down.

Kahky said in press statements late Sunday that the channel would review records of the show, and apologize to the president's office if the content proves to be abusive.

Edited and combined translations from Al-Masry Al-Youm