There has been some speculation about the reasons behind the prison sentences. In an article in Al-Dustur on 19 September, Muhammad Tawfiq reflected that the four papers were "targeted" because they uncovered "many torture cases over the recent period" and "the rigging of the People's Assembly vote" and supported "the independence of the judiciary against the minister of justice, the teachers against the minister of education and the workers against the minister of manpower". On 25 September, Fattuh al-Shazli of Al-Wafd stressed that Egyptian journalists "are at the crossroads" and they either have "to struggle to annul the law on jailing journalists" or "put down their pens and leave the scene for the government and the regime to announce the death of the press in Egypt". The independent and opposition press have also called on journalists to unite to face such a crackdown. On 30 September, Abd-al-Nabi Abd-al-Bari of Al-Wafd stressed that "closing journalists' ranks has become an urgent need" in order to face "the arbitrary and unjust measures". Writing in the same vein on 3 October in Al-Wafd also, Majdi Hilmi said: "We should be united in the face of the expected aggression, which would affect our colleagues."