Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

As parliamentary elections draw near, Egypt is witnessing more and more control by the ruling regime over state media.

 Leading watchdogs, Reporters Sans Frontiers and Reporters without Borders have criticized NileSat, the Egyptian state-owned broadcaster, for closing down over 12 channels on the grounds that they promote extremism in addition to warning that 20 other channels may be axed.

According to the group, the decision was made ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for November and the presidential elections in 2011.

Sources argue that the authorities are hoping to control information and the measures being taken is just the beginning of a not too bright future regarding media.

 The group claims that the move has been made to undermine the opposition ahead of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. It predicts that regulations will tighten with the control of SMS text messaging services as the popular Muslim Brotherhood movement successfully utilized the service during the 2005 parliamentary elections.