Last week, an Egyptian court sentenced Yehia Qalash and two board members to two years in prison each on charges of hiding two colleagues sought by the authorities at the syndicate’s headquarters. 

“This is not an opinion case,” Sisi said in an interview with Portuguese state television channel RTP Tuesday on the sidelines of an official visit to Portugal. 

“The case is a criminal one as he is accused of harboring suspects at the syndicate’s headquarters in violation of law,” he added. 

In May, police raided the syndicate’s premises in Cairo, arresting the two journalists for allegedly "inciting protests" and "plotting to overthrow the ruling regime".  

Syndicate officials have decried the raid -- the first in the syndicate’s history -- as a "blatant assault on journalists’ dignity" and have demanded the interior minister’s dismissal.  

The interior ministry, for its part, said the arrest of the two journalists had been carried out in accordance with the law and in line with a warrant issued by Egypt’s prosecutor-general.  

AA