Malmo Festival Responds to Incidents of Harassment

The 3rd Malmo Arab Film Festival's administration released a press statement last night commenting on the harassment the Egyptian delegates experienced by ex-President Mohamed Morsi's supporters. The festival's administration denounced the harassment, thanking the Egyptian participants who insisted on staying to continue with the festival's events.

The administration issued the following statement on the festival's Facebook page: “The third round of Malmo Arab Film Festival was exposed to some assaults on its participants and an attempt to distort the festival's good reputation by some individuals who took advantage of the well established freedom of expression in Sweden to organize some protests that included some attacks and violations on some of the festival's participants.

The festival's administration was fully aware of these practices and has dealt with it with neither ignorance nor a minimizing of the impact. The administration took immediate actions to ensure the participants' safety, maintain security and continue the festival's events.

As the administration condemns the exaggerated news reported by Arab news agencies and papers and their incorrect coverage of the events, it apologizes to the festival's participants for any harassment or assaults they suffered during the festival. The administrations also thanks all participants who decided to stay at the festival, appreciating their solidarity with the festival and their refusal to withdraw.

The administration also commends the role of the Swedish police, which has spared no effort (that makes no sense - let's look at this after lunch) in the performance of their duty. It also commends the role of the Egyptian embassy, represented by the ambassador of Egypt, who was following the developments first hand. The administration emphasizes once again that what happened did not and will not distort the festival's path from its goal of bridging Arab and European cultures and that the festival will remain a symbol of pluralism, celebrated in the city of Malmo, which hosts more than 175 nationalities.

The Festival, which concludes tonight, is screening the Palestinian movie “Metran Men Haza El Torab”(Two Meters of This Dust). The movie is competing against eleven others for the top award, Best Feature. The movie follows the interweaving stories of people whose paths cross during the Ramallah's summer music festival.