Postponement of the Journalists’ Syndicate Appeal Against the Annulment of Abd El-Raouf Khalifa’s Exemption from Chairing the Housing Committee to July 2

On Monday, June 3, 2024, the First Circuit of the Supreme Administrative Court decided to postpone the hearing of appeal No. 33118 of the Judicial Year 70, filed by the head of the Journalists’ Syndicate in his capacity, against Abd El-Raouf Abd El-Monem, commonly known as Abd El-Raouf Khalifa, a member of the Syndicate’s board, regarding the annulment of the Administrative Court’s ruling to void the Syndicate Board’s decision to exempt him from his position as the Chairman of the Housing Committee. The hearing is postponed to July 2, 2024, for the State Commissioners Authority’s report to be presented.

The Journalists’ Syndicate Board has affirmed its rejection of the actions taken by the board member in establishing an association called “Journalism for Services and Development,” which contravenes the Syndicate’s decisions, norms, and the Law on Non-Governmental Organizations. The board announced that legal and syndicate measures would be taken to halt the association’s activities.

In a statement issued on September 27, 2023, the Syndicate Board announced the exemption of the board member from his position as Chairman of the Housing Committee and called for the swift dissolution of the association, especially in light of its conflicting role with the Syndicate. The establishment of this association is in violation of Clause 2 of Article 7 of the Law on Regulating the Exercise of Civil Work No. 149 of 2019, and in contravention of Article 15 of the same law.

The Syndicate clarified that Abd El-Raouf Khalifa’s announcement of the association’s activities on his personal social media page, which included details about the association, constituted a parallel entity that infringes upon the Syndicate’s authority and its union activities. It was also noted that the mentioned board member was absent from attending the emergency meeting without an apology.

The Syndicate Board expressed its full solidarity with everything stated in the Syndicate’s head’s statement regarding the incident, which included an accurate summary of the facts on this matter.

The board also announced the referral of the complaint filed by 189 journalists against the mentioned board member for establishing an association concerned with matters falling under the fundamental duties of the union and the Journalists’ Syndicate’s jurisdiction, exploiting the name of the journalists, and involving them in the name of his association, to an investigation. Additionally, the complaint filed by journalist Shokri El-Kady regarding threats from the mentioned board member was also referred to an investigation. The board called upon those participating in establishing the association to withdraw from its formation due to its conflicting activities with those of the Syndicate and its harm to union work.

The Syndicate decided to address the Ministry of Social Solidarity and all relevant ministries and authorities to halt the activities of the so-called Journalism for Services and Development Association and to prohibit dealings with it due to its violations and encroachments upon the Syndicate’s jurisdiction. Moreover, the board decided to take legal measures in this regard.