Ibrahim Eissa one of the most well known critics of the the current Egyptian administration has been sacked in what is being claimed as a crackdown on press freedom in the run up to elections in November.Eissa was editor-in-chief of the daily Al-Dustur and rose to prominence internationally after being jailed in 2006 for "defaming the President" Hosni Mubarak and also again in 2008 for running a story "publishing false information and rumours" after claiming that Mubarak's health was deteriorating.
Eissa announced that he was not given an exact reason but that it came "hours after the publishers told me they didn't want me to run an article written by Mohamed ElBaradei", who is the figurehead for opposition national political reform movement and a past winner of the Nobel peace prize. Asked about his firing on Al-Jazeera TV, Eissa claimed he was told by the publishers they were terminating his contract due to government pressure.
The move comes less than a month after one of Eissa's TV shows was cancelled with the independant TV station also citing political pressure and "Cairo Today" a show that had run for 12 years and was noted for its criticism of the government was also closed on Monday.
Mubarak has not yet announced whether he will stand for a sixth term in 2011 with rumours circling that his son is being groomed to replace him. The clampdown appears to be an attempt to reduce criticism of both upcoming elections as both seem likely to be riddled with fraud.
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