Egypt orders 14 Libyan TV channels off satellite

Egypt's state news agency says a court has ordered the state-owned satellite operator Nilesat to take 14 Libyan TV stations off the air.

Egypt's state news agency says a court has ordered the state-owned satellite operator Nilesat to take 14 Libyan TV stations off the air.

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The court decision on Monday follows a lawsuit by Libyan citizens and Egyptian lawyers who said the stations owned by the regime of Muammar Gaddafi incite against the rebels fighting to topple the leader, in power for 42 years.

The stations are off the air until they can find another satellite to beam them.

Libya's rebels have launched their homegrown satellite TV station in May to counter the regime's powerful media machine, which depicts the opposition as terrorists and drums up patriotic fervor by beaming images of burning buildings hit by Nato airstrikes.