Egypt’s general prosecutor referred a celebrated journalist to the criminal court over charges on Sunday of insulting the country’s foreign minister, state-run MENA news agency reported.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit had sued Hamdi Qandil for slander after he published an article in an independent newspaper on May 3 which the top diplomat said included insults to him.

In his article, Qandil criticized statements made by Abul Gheit, saying that “words usually drop from his (Abul Gheit’s) mouth like garbage from a perforated rubbish bag.”

However, the prominent Egyptian journalist said he did not intend to insult Abul Gheit, but only to criticize statements made by the latter.