Abdel Rahim Ali 

Abdel Rahim Ali is an Egyptian journalist and MP. He was elected as a member of the House of Representatives in 2015 for the Dokki and Agouza constituencies, in the Giza governorate (Cairo) and is a member of the Egyptian Press Syndicate.

Ali founded the Arab Center for Research and Studies in 1998 and is a renowned researcher on the political Islam movements. After the January 25th revolution 2011, Ali worked on establishing Al Bawaba News website, and later founded Al Bawaba newspaper in 2014.

The host of the TV show “Black Box” on Al-Qahira Wal Nas satellite channel, Ali became famous for regularly leaking conversation of activists and politicians, most likely recorded by a security apparatus. These recordings included phone calls of former Vice President Mohamed El Baradei, former Muslim Brotherhood leader Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh and the politician Mostafa Al Naggar. His “Black Box” program was suspended in 2014. Al-Qahira Wal Nas’ owner, Tarek Nour, explained the move saying that “Ali turned the discussion of general matters into a discussion of his own personal vendettas to defame people”, violating the rules and policies of the TV station. Ali, however, claimed that business tycoon Naguib Sawiris was behind the suspension.

Abdel Rahim Ali is also known for his strong relations with the United Arab Emirates government. His investments are limited to the media, and he has good relations with the security services, which enabled him to obtain membership of the House of Representatives, whose elections were held under a great control of the security services on the process of running and directing voters. Abdel Rahim Ali’s daughter is Ghada, and she is the executive director of Al Bawaba News, while his other daughter Dalia is the executive editor-in-chief of Al Bawaba News.