Nilesat to take Iran’s al-Kawthar off air

Egypt’s Nilesat satellite company has decided to take Iran’s Arabic-language al-Kawthar TV channel off air, as the parliamentary elections begin in the North African country.

The Egyptian company refused to renew its contract with Al-Kawthar despite the Tehran-based channel’s agreement to raise the contract fee.

Al-Kawthar has decided to negotiate with Atlantic Bird satellites, operated by Eutelsat, a French-based satellite provider.

Established in 2006 by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Al-Kawthar mainly broadcasts 19 hours of religious and cultural programming a day.

However, Nilesat has decided not to carry al-Kawthar and 19 other television stations as Egyptians go to polls amid a crackdown on opposition parties.

Egypt opened polling stations for the country’s parliamentary elections on Sunday following a campaign marred by violence and a widespread crackdown on major opposition groups.

The polls start as human rights groups say the elections have already been compromised due to many arrests and violent attacks on opposition activists as well as imposed restrictions on their candidates.

More than 1,000 supporters of the country’s main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other opposition groups have been arrested while campaigning or in clashes with police over the past weeks.

Prominent Egyptian opposition leader and former director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed El Baradei has called for a boycott of the elections.

Rights groups say the elections have already been compromised due to many arrests and violent attacks on the opposition. The London-based Amnesty International has also warned Cairo against rights abuse.

Although nearly 41 million Egyptians are eligible for vote, the turnout is expected to be low amid fears of clashes between supporters of rival candidates.

Rights groups called on Egypt to prevent its security forces from intimidating and harassing candidates and voters.

The initial results of the parliamentary elections are expected on Monday.