By sarah el deeb, associated press

A prominent dual British-Lebanese journalist who hosted a talk show
critical of the government of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi
arrived in Beirut on Tuesday after authorities in Cairo briefly detained
her and then deported her, her lawyer said.

Lilian Daoud, a former BBC reporter, could not immediately be reached
for comment. Her lawyer, Zyad el-Elaimy, wrote on his Twitter account
that her first comment after landing in Beirut was that she will
challenge the decision to deport her.

There was no formal explanation for Daoud’s deportation from Egypt.
An Egyptian security official, speaking Monday on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said
Daoud’s residency permit expired after her contract with the private
ONTV station in Egypt was terminated.

“It’s the first time someone is deported in this fashion in Egypt,”
el-Elaimy told The Associated Press, speaking by telephone from Cairo.
He said even criminals are asked to leave, not taken from their homes.

Late on Monday, eight men in plain-clothes escorted Daoud from her home
in an upscale Cairo suburb where she has lived for five years, after she
announced on her social media account that the network had ended her
contract.

Her 10-year old Egyptian daughter was there when the men took Daoud
away, allowing her no time to pick up luggage. She only called her
family from the plane before it headed to Beirut, el-Elaimy said.

El-Elaimy said her deportation is a new high in the government’s
crackdown on dissenting voices. He said authorities “are not prepared to
hear any diverse voices or to hear anyone who is supportive” of the
2011 uprising that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak
and ushered in a period of political instability in Egypt. Since the
military overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in 2013, the government
of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has shown little tolerance for
criticism, banning protests and taking programs off the air.

The decision to abruptly deport Douad shocked her colleagues and other public figures.

Mohammed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and one of the Egyptian
uprising’s spiritual fathers who now lives in self-imposed exile,
applauded Daoud for her professional reporting. “One day we may have
enough self-confidence to understand the value of having different
opinions,” he said in a subtle jab at authorities.

Daoud formerly worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation, and
lived in London before moving to Egypt with her daughter following the
outbreak of the 2011 protests.

Her talk show aired critical views of el-Sissi’s government. In her
program, “The Full Picture” on ONTV, she hosted protesters, youth
leaders as well as government officials. During the brief rule of
Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, she also hosted critics of the Islamist
group.

El-Elaimy said she had applied to renew her residency nearly a year ago
but that authorities did not respond, leaving her in limbo. He said
Daoud has a right to return to Cairo because she has custody of her
daughter.

Satirical TV host Bassem Youssef
— once described as the Jon Stewart of Egypt and whose program was
taken off the air for his criticism of the government- said her arrest
is “just the beginning.”

“Egypt … can’t tolerate the rest of the world,” Youssef, who has also left Egypt, wrote on his Facebook.