The blocking of websites still continues with banning 261 VPN and proxy websites on 29 August raising the total number of blocked sites to 405, according to the latest report by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE.)
On 24 May, the Egyptian authorities started blocking news websites on alleged claims of “supporting terrorism.” In a span of 3 months, the blockade expanded from news websites to banning VPN sites, websites of non-profit organizations and personal blogs of journalists.
Among the blocked websites are the independent news website Mada Masr and the privately-owned Daily News Egypt.
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and Reporters Without Borders (RWB) websites have also been blocked.
Also, the blog of Ahmed Gamal Ziada, a writer for Masr Alarabia, researcher, and photojournalist, has been blocked preventing readers in Egypt from accessing his blog.
The blocked VPN websites are Tunnelbear, Cyberghost, Hotspot Shield Elite VPN (Hsselite), Tigervpn and Zenvpn among many others.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye, and the Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, Fionnuala Ní Aloáin, today raised grave concerns with the Government of Egypt over its ongoing assault on freedom of expression.
“Limiting information as the Egyptian Government has done, without any transparency or identification of the asserted ‘lies’ or ‘terrorism’, looks more like repression than counter-terrorism,” they said in the report.
Four years since security forces violently dispersed two
sit-ins at Rabaa al Adawiya and al-Nahda squares in Greater Cairo,
leaving at least 900 people dead and thousands more injured, Egypt is
experiencing an unprecedented human rights crisis, said Amnesty
International.
Not a single person has been held to account for the events on 14
August 2013, widely known as the Rabaa massacre. Instead, hundreds who
attended the protests, including journalists and photographers who were
covering the events, have been arrested and are facing an unfair mass
trial. This vacuum of justice has allowed security forces to commit
serious human rights violations, including using excessive lethal force
and carrying out enforced disappearances, entirely unchecked.
“President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi’s regime has been determined to wipe
out all memory of the massacre of the summer of 2013. The dark legacy
of this failure to bring anyone to justice is that Egypt’s security
forces today feel that they will not be held accountable for committing
human rights violations,” said Najia Bounaim, North Africa Campaigns
Director at Amnesty International.
“The Rabaa dispersal marks a defining turning point for human rights
in Egypt. In the years since then, security forces have stepped up
violations and varied their methods, carrying out enforced
disappearances and extrajudicial executions on a scale never seen
before.”
Since 2015, at least 1,700 people are estimated to have been
“disappeared” by state agents for periods ranging from a few days to up
to seven months. Most victims are abducted from the streets or their
homes and held incommunicado for months, cut off from their families and
lawyers. Egyptian security forces have also carried out dozens of
extrajudicial executions.
The Egyptian government’s efforts to erase all memory of the 2013
massacres appear to have had some impact. In August 2013, following the
excessive use of lethal force by security forces at Rabaa, the EU
Foreign Affairs Council agreed to suspend export licenses to Egypt of
any equipment which could be used for internal repression. Despite
this, many EU member states have continued to supply the country with
arms and policing equipment. The latest EU country report published last month also makes no mention of the Rabaa massacre or the impunity security services still enjoy.
Grossly unfair trials
Since the Rabaa massacre, the Egyptian authorities have led a bitter
crackdown against political dissidents, rounding up thousands and
sentencing hundreds to life in prison
or death, after grossly unfair trials. In many cases defendants were
convicted in mass trials based on scant or dubious evidence. Most faced
charges including participating in unauthorised protests, belonging to
the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, damaging state and private
property, possessing firearms and attacking security forces.
The prosecution authorities, who have an obligation to bring those
responsible for the 2013 tragedy to justice, have proven unwilling to
investigate and prosecute those responsible for these crimes. Instead of
offering justice and remedy for victims, they have helped shield
perpetrators from prosecution.
“The level of disparity between the rampant impunity enjoyed by
security forces who took part in the Rabaa dispersal on one hand, and
the mass persecution of Muslim Brotherhood supporters who participated
in protest as well as journalists reporting that day, is shocking,” said
Najia Bounaim.
According to official statistics, six security officers were killed
during the Rabaa dispersal and three during the al-Fateh protest two
days later, also in Cairo. At least 1,231 people are being prosecuted in
two mass trials collectively charged with their killing.
At least 737 people were charged for participating in the 2013 sit-in in what is known as “Rabaa dispersal case”. Among them is the journalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known as “Shawkan” who was arrested for taking photographs during the sit-in at Rabaa.
Many of those detained are held in appalling conditions including
prolonged solitary confinement amounting to torture. They have
frequently been beaten and denied access to lawyers, medical care or
family visits.
In another emblematic case, known as the “Fateh mosque case”, at
least 494 people are on mass trial for participating in a protest on 16
August 2013, while no investigation was conducted into the use of
excessive lethal force by security forces that day that killed 120 protesters.
Those on trial include the Irish Egyptian national Ibrahim Halawa.
The group are facing charges including participating in an unauthorised
protest, belonging to a banned group, as well as murder and attacking
the security forces. The prosecution failed to investigate claims by
defendants that they were tortured by police to “confess” to crimes they
did not commit.
The “Rabaa operations room case” involving four journalists from the
RASSD news network - Youssef Talaat, Abdallah Al-Fakharany, Samhi
Mostafa and Mohamed El-Adly – is another case that exemplifies the
blatant injustice characterizing such trials.
The journalists were sentenced to five years in prison on 8 May 2017
after being convicted of charges including creating and overseeing media
committees at the Rabaa sit-in to spread “false information and news”.
During the trial, their lawyers were unable to attend several crucial
court sessions leaving them unable to prepare a proper defence. The
court’s judgement also relied primarily on investigations by Egypt’s
National Security Agency that were not substantiated by material
evidence.
Held 21 Months Without Trial Despite Serious Illness
August 14, 2017
Egyptian
authorities should immediately provide appropriate health care to the
imprisoned journalist Hisham Gaafar, whose health, including his
eyesight, is deteriorating in detention, Human Rights Watch said today.
If prison authorities are unable to provide him necessary health care,
they should allow him to seek care in private health facilities.
The Interior Ministry’s National Security Agency arrested Gaafar,
director of the Mada Foundation for Media Development, a private media
company, at his office in October 2015. Prosecutors have ordered Gaafar
detained pending investigation on charges that include membership in the
Muslim Brotherhood and illegally receiving foreign funds for his
foundation, his lawyers told Human Rights Watch.
“Egypt’s Interior Ministry has shown contempt for Hisham Gaafar’s health and well-being,” said Sarah Leah Whitson,
Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The fact that the Interior
Ministry refuses to provide him his rightful care is a sad testament to
Egyptian authorities’ disregard for detainees’ most basic rights.”
Gaafar, 53, has an eye condition – optic nerve atrophy – that
requires ongoing specialist care or he may risk losing his sight
altogether. He also suffers from a years-long prostate enlargement
condition and risks complications if he does not receive the proper
treatment. His eyesight is deteriorating and his health has worsened
during his time in detention, in poor conditions, his family said.
Immediately following his arrest, police took Gaafar to his home,
where officers seized his personal publications, work papers, computers,
and phones, including those belonging to his wife and children. They
detained his family inside the home for 17 hours. Security officers
confiscated all his medical documents and reports and have not returned
them to his family, despite their requests.
National Security officers then took Gaafar to an undisclosed
location and held him for two days without access to his family or
lawyers. His family heard of his whereabouts when a lawyer saw him by
coincidence in the Supreme State Security Prosecution office in Cairo.
Prosecutors have kept him in pretrial detention since then.
Under Egyptian law, prosecutors have broad power to hold those
suspected of committing major offenses, including political and national
security crimes, in pretrial detention for up to five months without
regular judicial review, and judges can extend the detention for up to
two years without requiring any substantive justification from
prosecutors.
A judge should immediately review the necessity and legality of
Gaafar’s detention and either send him to trial without further delays
or release him, Human Rights Watch said.
During Gaafar’s time in detention, most of it spent in the maximum security Scorpion Prison in Cairo,
the Interior Ministry’s Prisons Authority has not provided needed
medicine but has intermittently allowed Gaafar to receive the eye
vitamins and prostate medicine he required, after completely banning
such supplies for the first two months of his detention. During those
two months, his wife, Manar, told Human Right Watch, prison authorities
kept Gaafar alone in a cell that, in his words, resembled a “tomb”
without sunlight.
Later, they allowed his family very short and irregular visits, with
no chance to verify whether he had received the medicine they had given
to prison guards for him. Since March 2017, prison authorities have
again denied him visits from relatives and his lawyer.
Before he was detained, Gaafar used special optic tools to read and
glasses for everyday life. He also needed some assistance in his daily
routine, his wife said. Prison authorities allowed his wife to deliver
the glasses several months after his detention, but when they reached
him, they were broken.
The way the glasses were broken suggested it had
been deliberate, his wife said. She delivered new ones, but he has not
had a new eye examination. His wife said that he recently told her he
was not seeing as well as before, even with the glasses, suggesting his
eyesight may have deteriorated.
Gaafar has had optic nerve atrophy in both eyes since he was a
teenager, according to his wife.
Medical documents and reports from
2012, which she provided to Human Rights Watch after she retrieved them
from a hospital, stated that at the time he had only 10 percent of his
vision remaining in his left eye. Optic nerve atrophy has no cure, but
it can be slowed by exposure to sunlight, medicine, and a healthy diet,
his wife said doctors had told them. These are not available in adequate
amounts to inmates at Scorpion Prison and many other Egyptian detention
facilities.
A Human Rights Watch report on Scorpion Prison,
published in 2016, documented cruel and inhuman treatment by officers
of the Interior Ministry’s Prisons Authority that probably amounted to
torture, including preventing food and medicine deliveries and other
interference in medical care that may have contributed to prisoners’
deaths.
Gaafar’s wife said he appeared weak and to have lost significant
weight during her March 2017 visit. She said she saw bite marks all over
his body, which he said were from insects that had infested his cell
due to a sewage leak. He told her he had suffered pain for weeks because
he was sleeping on the concrete floor without a mattress. Human Rights
Watch previously documented that Scorpion Prison authorities deny
inmates a wide variety of basic necessities for hygiene and comfort,
including beds, pillows, and mattresses.
In late February 2016, after a public outcry and growing criticism
from the Journalists’ Syndicate, human rights organizations, and public
figures, the authorities transferred Gaafar to the Tora Prison Hospital
after he began suffering from urinary retention – the inability to
fully empty his bladder.
Prison authorities then transferred him to
al-Manial University Hospital, which is affiliated with Cairo
University. Doctors who examined him there on March 4, and again on
March 10, 2016, asked prison officials to allow him to be kept at Cairo
University hospitals to prepare for more tests, including diagnostic
surgery on his enlarged prostate, the apparent cause of the urinary
retention.
Gaafar spent five months at the prisoners’ ward at Qasr al-Aini
Hospital, where ill inmates who are hospitalized are usually held, but
the authorities repeatedly failed to give Gaafar timely permission to go
for needed tests. Human Rights Watch has previously documented that prison authorities pressure hospitals not to admit inmates or to return them without necessary treatment.
Gaafar told his wife that he received very little medical care
there. In August 2016, the authorities sent Gaafar back to Scorpion
Prison before he had undergone the examinations that he was told he
needed. Prison authorities and Cairo University hospitals have not
allowed Gaafar’s family to read or obtain a copy of the medical reports
issued during his detention, his wife said.
The family managed to obtain the hospital discharge report through
unofficial means, however, and provided a copy to Human Rights Watch.
The report contained no detailed information on any tests Gaafar may
have undergone or treatment received but stated that he suffers from
“mild prostate enlargement" and that "the patient needed no surgical
intervention.” The report did not state what caused the enlargement or
whether it was benign or cancerous – a primary concern for the family.
A couple of days after returning to prison, Gaafar found blood in
his urine, and officers transferred him again to Tora Prison Hospital.
But the facilities there lack a urology specialist, his wife said, and
the prison authorities have refused to arrange for Gaafar to be seen by
one. He appeared before a court in August 2016 carrying a urinary
catheter, his lawyers said.
His wife said that after filing several complaints, a National
Security officer visited Gaafar in detention in November 2016, and told
him, “don’t worry, we will treat you.” But Gaafar’s request to seek
treatment in a private health facility was ignored.
One of his lawyers and his wife both told Human Rights Watch that
prosecutors never allowed them to obtain a copy of the official charges
against him or the rest of his case file. However, Hossam al-Sayed,
another Mada Foundation journalist who was arrested with Gaafar on the
same day, was released without bail in March 2016, said the lawyer Karim
Abd al-Rady of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (an
independent rights group).
Under an amendment to the penal code decreed by President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi in September 2014, Gaafar could face a 25-year sentence
if convicted of receiving foreign funds illegally.
Prisoners have the right to the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health guaranteed in the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Egypt ratified in 1982.
The Committee Against Torture, the monitoring body of the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment – ratified by Egypt in 1986 – has found that failure to
provide adequate medical care can violate the treaty’s prohibition of
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
“It is deeply concerning that Egypt’s judiciary has become complicit
in human rights violations by cruelly detaining people like Gaafar for
years without justification, exposing them to serious abuse and harm,”
Whitson said.
The list of blocked websites in Egypt keeps growing, as the
government widens what some say is an unprecedented crackdown on both
local and international digital outlets. So far, 114 websites have been blocked
in the north African nation since May 24, according to the latest
figures from the non-governmental organization Association for Freedom
of Thought and Expression.
A majority of these are news websites, but also included are
platforms that can be used to access blocked sites or that allow for
anonymous browsing and communication.
The affected websites include sites like Mada Masr, the financial newspaper Al Borsa,
and Huffington Post Arabic. Twelve websites linked to Al Jazeera were
also been blocked. Medium, the online publishing platform, was also
banned.
The outage also affected
Tor, the free software that provides users with online anonymity, and
Tor bridges, which helps users circumvent the blocking of Tor itself.
The website of the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), an
international network that monitors internship censorship and
surveillance, was also blocked.
The growing censorship comes as the government says it’s cracking down on websites that are “publishing false information” and “supporting terrorism.”
(Link in Arabic) Egypt is currently in the midst of a three-month state
emergency, following twin attacks on churches that killed almost 50
people in April.
The country is also part of a Saudi-led coalition that has put a blockade on Qatar, demanding, among other things,
the closure of the Doha-based Al Jazeera media network which it
considers to a be a propaganda tool for Islamists. The government of
president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is also embroiled in a maritime
demarcation agreement over its decision to vote on the transfer of two islands in the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia—a move that has angered many Egyptians.
However, journalists and activists say the campaign is suppressing
free expression and voices critical of the government. Some are accusing
the regime of failing to disclose any judicial or administrative decision to block the sites—or whether emergency law provisions were applied.
“Even in the darkest days of the repressive Mubarak era, the
authorities didn’t cut off access to all independent news sites,” Najia
Bounaim, Amnesty International’s north Africa campaigns director, said.
In a June 19 report, OONI stated that deep packet inspection technology was being used to monitor and block these websites. Mada Masr, one of the blocked sites, also reported
that the decision to block the sites was carried through a “centralized
decision” by the government rather than by the country’s telecoms or
internet service providers.
Since going offline, sites like Mada have been publishing articles on
Facebook. Lina Attallah, the editor of the site, said the strategy of
blocking the sites works to the government’s advantage for now.
“If they
did something more grave like arresting team members or me it would
make big noise, whereas blocking the website is the best way to paralyze
us without paying a high price for it,” Attallah told Reuters.
*Photo by Mohamed Abd El Ghany, courtesy of Reuters
Hundreds
of members of professional syndicates have signed statements in
opposition to Parliament’s recent approval of the Tiran and Sanafir
agreement, brokered by Egypt and Saudi Arabia in April 2016.
Eight hundred and fifty journalists issued a statement on Sunday
announcing that they reject the agreement, which concedes sovereignty
over the two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, describing it as invalid
and “demanding that state institutions respect the Constitution and the
law, and the blood of martyrs who defended Egyptian land.”
The
Journalists Syndicate announced that it would launch an investigation
into the sit-in held in its headquarters on Wednesday, protesting the
agreement.
Hatem Zakareya, a member of the syndicate’s board, told Mada
Masr that no request was submitted before the protest, in violation of
the syndicate’s bylaws. He added that investigations will also be
launched into footage aired on Al Jazeera and other pro-Muslim
Brotherhood channels from inside the building and its entrance showing
non-syndicate members attending the protest.
Gamal Abdel Rehim,
one of four syndicate board members who signed a statement rejecting the
agreement, told Mada Masr that allegations that Muslim
Brotherhood-affiliated channels entered the syndicate are untrue,
arguing that it is not necessary to submit a request before initiating
sit-ins at the syndicate.
“Never in the history of the syndicate
has any group submitted a request to start a sit-in,” he said, adding
that it is common for non-syndicate members to join political action
taking place within the syndicate.
A statement was also signed
by 620 members of the Engineers Syndicate’s general assembly denouncing
the deal, labeling it unconstitutional. The statement criticized
“attempts to pressure opposition and the blocking of websites that
attempt to reveal the truth of the matter.”
The statement mirrors
that issued by the Journalists Syndicate, calling on citizens to
exercise their constitutional right to express their opinions peacefully
“in defense of the blood of the martyrs who died to defend the unity of
Egyptian land.”
Head of the Engineers Syndicate Tarek
al-Nabarawy said last Friday that in his personal opinion the islands
are Egyptian, adding that the syndicate should not be involved in
politics.
Akram Ismail, member of the Engineers Syndicate and the
Bread and Freedom Party told Mada Masr: “Major national causes cannot
be separated from syndicate work,” adding that syndicates, parties and
social media are the only remaining platforms for political action
following the crackdown on the street movement and blocking of websites.
Ismail said that the fact that three leading figures in the syndicate
expressed their opposition to the agreement on their personal Facebook
pages indicates the syndicate’s position, even if no official statement
was made.
Members of the Cinema Syndicate also released a
statement inviting people to protest the transfer of the islands “using
all peaceful and legal means.”
They called for a protest at their
headquarters on Saturday to oppose the agreement, however the protest
was canceled due to the heavy security presence in the area.
Six
members of the Doctors Syndicate board also announced their opposition
to the agreement in a statement. However Mona Mina, the syndicate’s
secretary general, wrote on her Facebook page: “As a vocational
institution, the syndicate has nothing to do with this important
political and national cause.”
Members of the Lawyers Syndicate also held a protest inside syndicate headquarters on Tuesday to express their objection.
Since discussions of the maritime border agreement reached Parliament,
security forces have carried out an extensive arrest campaign across
several governorates, targeting activists and protesters opposing the
deal.
The deal, which was being challenged in court, had sparked rare
protests in the country, with the opposition accusing the government of
selling Egyptian territory to its Saudi benefactors.
The vote came after days of heated debate in Parliament, with opponents even interrupting one committee session with chanting.
Courts had initially struck down the agreement, signed in April 2016, but a year later another court upheld it.
The accord sparked rare protests in Egypt last year, with President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi accused of having traded the islands of Tiran and
Sanafir for Saudi largesse.
The government said the islands were Saudi to begin with, but were leased to Egypt in the 1950s.
Opponents of the agreement insisted that Tiran and Sanafir were Egyptian.
On Tuesday evening, dozens of journalists protested against the
agreement in central Cairo, before being dispersed by police,
journalists' union official Gamal Abdel Rehim said.
Several were briefly arrested before being released, but "three
reporters are still detained, and contacts are being made with the
interior ministry to get them released," he said.
Egypt has banned
21 websites, including the main website of Qatar-based Al Jazeera
television and prominent local independent news site Mada Masr, accusing
them of supporting terrorism and spreading false news.
The
blockade is notable in scope and for being the first publicly
recognized by the government. It was heavily criticized by journalists
and rights groups.
The state news
agency announced it late on Wednesday. Individual websites had been
inaccessible in the past but there was never any official admission.
Reuters found the websites named by local media and were inaccessible.
The
move follows similar actions taken on Wednesday by Egypt's Gulf allies
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which blocked Al Jazeera and
other websites after a dispute with Qatar.
Qatar
said hackers had posted fake remarks by its emir criticizing U.S.
foreign policy but Saudi and UAE state-run media reported the comments
anyway.
An official from Egypt's
National Telecom Regulatory Authority would not confirm or deny the
blockage, but said: "So what if it is true? It should not be a problem."
Two
security sources told Reuters the 21 websites were blocked for being
affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood or for being funded by
Qatar.
Cairo
accuses Qatar of supporting the Brotherhood, which was ousted from
power in Egypt in 2013 when the military removed elected Islamist
President Mohamed Mursi following mass protests against him.
Ties
between Qatar and Egypt were badly damaged after Mursi's fall. Doha
welcomed a number of senior Brotherhood figures, although since then
Qatar has asked several to leave.
Mada
Masr, an Egyptian news website based in the country which describes
itself as progressive and has no Islamist or Qatari affiliations, was
also inaccessible.
Journalists at
Mada Masr said the website was publishing articles on Facebook for now.
It remains accessible outside Egypt or via proxy.
"Nothing
explains this blockade more than a very clear intention from the
authorities to crack down on critical media in ways that bypass the
law," Mada Masr Editor in Chief Lina Attalah told Reuters on Thursday.
The
website is registered in Egypt and its journalists are based in the
country, she said. No one from the government contacted the management
before or after the 21 websites went down. CLIMATE OF FEAR
Two other local websites,
including that of a print newspaper registered with the authorities,
were also down, as were several Brotherhood-affiliated websites and
Egypt-focused ones that publish from abroad. The Huffington Post's Arabic website also was inaccessible, although the international version could be accessed.
State
news agency MENA cited a senior security source as saying the websites
were blocked because they supported terrorism and that the government
would take legal action.
"A senior
security source said 21 websites have been blocked inside Egypt for
having content that supports terrorism and extremism as well as
publishing lies," MENA said.
Mahmoud Kamel, who sits on the board of Egypt's official press union, said was a clear attack on freedom of speech.
"This
move is unacceptable. We oppose all blocking of news websites but this
is unfortunately part of the general climate of fear we are experiencing
in Egypt," he told Reuters.
Egyptian
authorities have cracked down on the Islamist, secular and liberal
opposition alike since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, then the military
chief, toppled Mursi.
Since
then, hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested, including
journalists. Sisi told CNN in 2015 that Egypt has "unprecedented freedom
of expression."
*Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Additional reporting by Ali Abdelaty,
Eric Knecht and Ahmed Mohamed Hassan; Editing by Giles Elgood and Alison
Williams
Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) issued a final ruling on Monday confirming Egypt’s sovereignty over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir,
stating that the Egyptian government has not provided adequate evidence
supporting Saudi Arabia’s claim to the land. According to the ruling,
therefore, the executive branch of Egypt’s government does not have the
administrative authority to cede the territory to Saudi Arabia.
Judge
Ahmed al-Shazly, the vice president of the State Council, announced in
court that “the Egyptian military was not an occupying force and the
sovereignty of Egypt over Tiran and Sanafir is irrevocable,” in response
to the Egyptian government’s claims that the uninhabited islands are
Saudi Arabian territory but have been administered by Egypt since the
1950s upon the request of the Gulf monarchy.
In April, a lawsuit
was filed in the Court of Administrative Justice (CAJ) to challenge the
controversial agreement signed by Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail
and Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohamed bin
Salman during King Salman bin Abdel Aziz’s April 2016 visit to Cairo.
The
CAJ ruled in June that Prime Minister Sherif Ismail violated the
Constitution by signing the agreement and nullified his signature — the
court could not rule on the legitimacy of the agreement itself, however,
as international agreements fall outside of its jurisdiction.
The
government challenged this ruling on several fronts: appealing the
decision, filing a request for injunction to stay its implementation,
preemptively submitting the deal to Parliament and attempting to
circumvent and challenge judicial jurisdiction.
In November, the
CAJ approved the request to force the state to implement the annulment
of Ismail’s signature and denied the state’s counter-motion.
The
report by the State Commissioners Authority on the case, an influence on
today’s ruling, recommended that the SAC reject the government’s
appeal, stating that “the treaty in question, which will result in
giving up sovereignty of Egyptian land, is null and void as the party
that signed it violated the Constitution.”
In a press conference
following the ruling, prominent rights lawyer Khaled Ali — a member of
the legal team who filed the case against the government — stated that
Parliament cannot discuss a document nullified by the SAC, warning that
if Parliament insists on pursuing this course of action, then it can be
held legally accountable.
Ali read out the final paragraph of the
ruling to the applause from the audience, saying the ruling would not
have been possible without the support of the Egyptian people.
While
Monday’s ruling was the final verdict in the appellate process within
the State Council regarding the agreement, the state filed a separate
appeal in August before the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) claiming
the State Council has no jurisdiction over international agreements.
This appeal remains pending, having been adjourned to February 12.
Opposition to the border deal between Egypt and Saudi Arabia has led to the biggest protest movement
since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power in June 2014, in
which a large number of demonstrators have been arrested on charges of
illegal protest.
Others have been prosecuted on charges of disseminating
false information after publicly stating that the two islands are
Egyptian, including prominent rights lawyer Malek Adly and journalists
Amr Badr and Mahmoud al-Sakka.
Cairo (AFP) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has
approved a law to set up a council headed by his appointees that
oversees the media and ensures compliance with "national security"
requirements.
The law, passed by parliament and published in the official gazette
on Monday, mandates the council to investigate media funding and fine or
revoke permits of those deemed in violation.
The council will be composed of a head picked by Sisi and 12 members
recommended by parliament and other institutions, and also approved by
the president. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has
accused Egypt of placing restrictions on media and being a "leading
jailer of journalists."
The law says the council would guarantee the right of citizens "to
enjoy a free and honest media". But it also tasks the council with
"guaranteeing the compliance of media institutions to the requirements
of national security."
Sisi has dismissed criticisms of media restrictions in Egypt, but he
regularly complains of its performance and has suggested it occasionally
harms the country with critical coverage.
The Egyptian Journalists Syndicate official Khaled Elbalshy said the
law tightens government control on media. "The new law entrenches the
status quo including control over the media through a council picked by
the executive branch," he told AFP.
The law came days after police arrested a journalist with the Qatari Al-Jazeera channel on suspicion of fabricating news on the country.
Egypt accuses the channel of backing the Muslim Brotherhood movement,
outlawed after the military toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in
2013 and cracked down on his supporters.
Egypt had provoked international condemnation in 2013 when it
arrested three Al-Jazeera journalists, including a Canadian and an
Australian, and sentenced them to jail on similar accusations. They were
later released.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) 2016 has seen
a record number of journalists jailed worldwide, marking the worst year
on record with an unprecedented 259 behind bars. Egypt is listed as the third worst offender with 25 journalists in jail, preceded by China with 38 and Turkey with 81.
In its latest report,
published on Tuesday, the New York-based group writes that, “More
journalists are jailed around the world than at any time since the CPJ
began keeping detailed records in 1990, with Turkey accounting for
nearly a third of the global total.”
The five countries at the top
of the list account for 68 percent of all journalists imprisoned
worldwide since December 1, 2016. This includes Ethiopia, and Eritrea.
This year’s statistics are a significant increase from the 199 journalists who were behind bars in 2015, and surpass the previous record of 232 imprisoned in 2012.
Turkey’s
high ranking this year is a result of an “ongoing crackdown that
accelerated after a failed coup attempt in July,” according to the
report. The government has increasingly imprisoned journalists seen as
sympathetic to exiled opposition cleric Fethullah Gülen or the attempted
coup.
Eight of Egypt’s 25 jailed journalists have been locked up
for more than three years, since the ouster of Islamist president
Mohamed Morsi on July 3, 2013. The remaining 17 have been imprisoned for
periods ranging from several weeks to years. This is an increase from
the 23 imprisoned in 2015, when Egypt was ranked the second worst jailer of journalists after China.
Some
are linked to Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated newspapers like Rassd,
while several others are TV correspondents, freelance reporters and
photojournalists. Most are being detained in Cairo’s Tora Prison,
although some are being held in Alexandria, Port Said, Arish, Fayoum and
Gamasa, among others.
One of the most high profile prisoners is freelance photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid — popularly known as Shawkan — who has spent over three years in jail. He was arrested by security forces for photographing the violent dispersal of the Rabea sit-in. Shawkan, who suffers from Hepatitis C, has claimed he has been denied access to necessary medical care, and has not yet been sentenced by a court.
Detained
on July 3, 2013, Rassd photojournalist Mahmoud Abdel Nabi has spent the
most time behind bars. He has remained in detention for over three
years and five months, pending his sentencing.
In
November, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) included both
Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on its list of 35 global press predators.
The Doha-based Al Jazeera television channel and the Qatari
government continue to face rebuke in Egypt following Sunday night’s
broadcast of a documentary on the conditions of conscripts in Egypt’s
Armed Forces.
While Egyptian media have been the principal figures
leading the response, nationalist hashtags supporting the military
surfaced on social media and members of Egypt’s Parliament called for an end to diplomatic relations with Qatar.
Anger toward the film, titled The Soldiers: Story of conscription in the Egyptian Armed Forces, began on Friday with the release of its trailer, which includes reenactment footage of soldiers crawling through a field in their undergarments.
The
film consists of the testimonies of former military conscripts
regarding the abuse they faced while enlisted. Many said that the
training they received was futile and did not prepare them for combat.
Some
of the media coverage became more incendiary on Monday, following the
broadcast. The privately owned al-Bawaba newspaper’s Managing Editor
Mohamed al-Baz wrote an article titled
“A look at our mentally ill Qatari brother,” contending that Qatar’s
jealousy of Egypt’s size and significance prompted it to betray its
fellow Arab country to conspire with their common enemies.
In the same issue, Al-Bawaba columnist Nashat al-Deihy wrote an opinion article
that begins with the sentence, “The prince is gay and his mother is a
prostitute.” He proceeds to call Qatar, “The island of gays and
prostitutes.”
Several daily newspapers also published accounts on
Monday of reporters who were allowed to visit military training camps,
using phrasing such as “the den of lions” and “the factory of saviors” for what the Al Jazeera documentary portrayed as places of abuse.
The privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper published a cartoon
on Monday depicting Qatari nationals watching the film and asking one
another, “What is a military?” a reference to the country’s smaller
military. This follows a cartoon in Sunday’s issue featuring an Egyptian
struggling to point out where Qatar is on the map due to its small
size.
However, these gestures are only the most recent in a series
of comments issued by a broad range of figures across Egyptian society
in the days leading up to the broadcast.
During a telephone
interview on Youssef al-Husseini’s “Sada al-Muhtaramon” (Respectable
Gentlemen) on Sunday, Foreign Minister spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid stated
that it was clear that the film aimed to destabilize public confidence
in the Armed Forces, a goal he asserted it would not accomplish. While
Egypt’s media could address the claims advanced by the documentary, the
Egyptian government, he continued, would not respond to a news channel.
Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawky Allam also affirmed
support for Egypt’s military, saying it stands like a “proud mountain”
and would not be affected by the slander propagated by partisan media
platforms.
Amr Adib took to the air on Sunday night, saying that
Qatar’s military is dependent on foreign elements and that the country
does not understand the structure of Egypt’s Armed Forces. “Al-Ashera
Masa’an” (10 pm) host Wael al-Ebrashy argued that outsiders “may not
understand that compulsory military service in Egypt is a national and
humanitarian duty.”
Lamis al-Hadidy, the host of “Huna al-'Asema”
(Here’s the Capital) appealed to how conscription unifies Egyptians from
every class, religion and race in the service of a nationalist
endeavor. “Our military is a great national army. It is not a mercenary
army. It is an army whose members come from every household in Egypt.
Sacrifice, self-denial and glory are the slogans of the Egyptian
solider.”
Regime supporters rallied around the hashtag “We will beat Tamim with a shoe” ahead of the screening on Sunday, a reference to the Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Ahmed Moussa is reported to have promoted use of the hashtag on his show “‘Ala Mas'ouliti” (My Responsibility.)
A lawsuit was reportedly filed
against Emad Eldin al-Sayed, the documentary’s director and an Egyptian
national, on Sunday, claiming that he had defamed Egypt’s Armed Forces.
Other media outlets reported that Sayed is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and an agent of Qatar. The director has denied these claims.
In an interview with the Huffington Post
Arabic, Sayed explained that he is not attempting to tarnish the image
of Egypt’s military. To the contrary, he told the Qatari-funded site
that the “film is biased in favor of the Armed Forces,” adding that he
is not opposed to military conscription.
“The film does not reject
conscription. Rather, it discusses frequently-occurring incidents and
accounts that are known to the Egyptian populace, including the
punishment that conscripts face while enlisted, along with the
exploitation of conscripted soldiers in labor markets outside the scope
of military service.”
Sayed also told the Qatari-funded SasaPost
news outlet that much of the documentary draws from footage either
filmed by hidden cameras or leaked by conscripts who had captured it
while on duty. However, other scenes feature reenactments based on
testimony and archival documents.
Using the hashtag “These are Egyptian soldiers,”
Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Mohamed Samir disseminated
footage that emphasized the dignity of soldiers during Armed Forces
training exercises.
Security forces raided Al Jazeera’s offices in
Egypt during the June 30 revolution. The channel’s employees have been
banned from operating in Egypt, with the last affiliate channel, “Mubasher Misr” (Live from Egypt), being shut down in December 2014.
Egyptian
police arrested and jailed four members of the Al Jazeera English
channel, claiming that the four used rooms in the Marriott Hotel in
Cairo to meet with Muslim Brotherhood members. They were charged with
broadcasting news that could harm national security and disseminating
false information. The ensuing legal proceedings against Mohamed Fahmy,
Peter Greste, Baher Mohamed became known as the “Marriott Cell” case. Greste, an Australian national, was deported
in February 2015, and Fahmy, the Egyptian-Canadian bureau chief, and
Mohamed, an Egyptian correspondent, were released from jail in September
of the same year.
Al Jazeera, which is funded by the Qatari
government, is widely perceived in Egypt to serve as the mouthpiece for
the Muslim Brotherhood.
Two Al Jazeera Arabic reporters – Abdallah
al-Shamy and Mohamed Badr – were arrested on August 14, 2013 during the
violent dispersal of the Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in, which resulted in the
deaths of several hundreds of supporters of former President Mohamed
Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Military conscription in Egypt
lasts between one and three years, depending on level of education.
Conscription is limited to able-bodied males between the ages of 18 and
30 years old and is pursuant to the completion of formal education.
Conscripts with little or no formal education are often drafted into the
Central Security Forces and typically serve for three years under the
auspices of the Interior Ministry rather than the Armed Forces.
The Paris-based international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has included Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on a list of “predators of press freedom.”
The list is a roundup of 35 presidents, political and religious
leaders, militias and criminal organizations which censor, imprison,
torture and murder journalists around the world.
The
register of global leaders is presented in gallery form, with satirical
“hunting permits” issued for each of the so-called “press predators.”
The data comes from RSF’s 2016 World Press Freedom index in which Egypt ranked 159th place out of 180 states.
While
Egypt ranked low on the index prior to the Arab Spring, the
organization claims that it has fallen even further since Sisi assumed
power. It states “under General Sisi’s leadership, the current
authorities are orchestrating a ‘Sisification’ of the media and a
witch-hunt against the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood.”
The “hunting permit”
for Sisi reads, “fans of mass round-ups and arbitrary detention include
Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was elected president in 2014 after
leading the military coup against the Muslim Brotherhood government in
July 2013.” It also includes a “kill tally”
of six journalists since July 2013, adding that he has jailed at least
27 journalists and media personnel during his time in office.
RSF
states that “the regime hounds journalists with any kind of link to the
Muslim Brotherhood,” likening Sisi’s government to Thailand’s military
junta, adding that journalists in Egypt are often subject to mass
arrests at the hands of state security.
The organization also comments on the state’s use of
prolonged pretrial detention and long jail sentences, and criticizes
Egypt’s 2015 anti-terrorism law, which requires journalists to report
official accounts of bombings and other attacks to preserve ‘national
security.’ The report also adds that “many foreign journalists have
been deported.”
According
to the RSF’s World Press Freedom Index “the situation of media freedom
in Egypt is extremely worrying. Successive governments have tried to
control the media, and have not hesitated to impose measures restricting
journalists’ freedom.”
The RSF concludes that Sisi’s modus
operandi is “complete denial.” It cited his interview with CNN in
September 2015, when he stated “I do not want to exaggerate, but we have
unprecedented freedom of expression in Egypt. No one in Egypt can bar
anyone working in media or journalism or on TV from expressing their
views.”
Accompanying Sisi on the list of “press predators” are
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Zimbabwe’s longtime President Robert
Mugabe, Sudanese ruler Omar Bashir, South Sudan’s Salva Kiir, Russia’s
Vladimir Putin, North Korean absolute ruler Kim Jong-un, Iran’s Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, along with the
Taliban and Islamic State groups.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has also commented on press freedoms in Egypt, listing it as the world’s second worst jailer of journalists in 2015, behind China. The CPJ wrote “perhaps nowhere has the climate for the press deteriorated more rapidly than in Egypt.”
Egypt's media welcomed,
unabashedly, the Turkish military coup; prematurely hailing Erdogan’s
overthrow
July 26, 2016
Ahmed Magdy Youssef
On Friday, July
15, in the throes of Turkey's deep crisis which left international media
befuddled by who was truly in power, numerous Egyptian media outlets jumped the
gun in their reportage. They prematurely declared that the attempted coup had ended
in success, heralding the Turkish army's control over the country and overthrow
of President Erdogan.
Within hours of
the start of the attempted coup, these outlets exposed their un-professionalism by
falling prey to propaganda. Despite confirmed news sources proving that the
democratically-elected government remained in charge, and people taking to the
streets to support Turkish democracy, several Egyptian state-run as well as
privately owned newspapers came out on Saturday, July 16, with headlines and
front pages showing a different trajectory.
TELEPATHY SYNDROME
State-run
newspaper Al-Ahram main front page banner headline stated that the
Turkish Armed Forces succeeded in ousting President Erdogan. The red headline said
“The Turkish army overthrows Erdogan” and was followed by the
subhead “The armed forces seize power, declare martial law and Recep Tayyip
vanishes."
State-owned Akhbar
Al-Youm, announced in its main headline “A military coup in Turkey,” while the subhead said “The military announced it has taken over to
protect democracy and human rights, Erdogan calls on supporters to take to the
streets to safeguard legitimacy.”
Taken in this
light, Egyptian newspaper’s choice of the word “legitimacy” is a reminder of
when former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was mocked for repeating the same
word in his final late-night televised speeches when he addressed the nation
before being ousted by his army generals three years ago.
Egypt’s
privately-owned newspapers had been faring just as badly when it came to their
lopsided coverage of the recent tectonic events in Turkey. Under the headline “The army topples Erdogan,” Al-Masry Al-Youm
newspaper seems to have duplicated Al-Ahram’s headline, however, suggesting
their similar biased ideologies.
Other privately-owned
newspapers, such as Al-Watan, not only ran the headline “The army takes over, deposes Erdogan,” its subhead also reported that
Erdogan tried to claim asylum in Germany at the height of the military coup,
citing unreliable western sources.
Unlike the other
Egyptian print media outlets that failed dismally at journalism and excelled at
propaganda, it was only the privately-owned Al-Shorouk newspaper that delivered
impartial and balanced coverage. It ran a headline on its front page entitled “An attempted coup in Turkey, Erdogan announces quashing it.”
Aside from printed
newspapers, the Egyptian news website Al-Youm Al-Sabea published a report
on its social media account naming “the reasons that led
to Erdogan’s fall." The most important of which was Erdogan's animosity towards
Egypt.
However, when
Erdogan had largely succeeded in quashing the coup, Al-Youm Al-Sabea
resorted to publishing a story that claimed the coup was merely an “epic theatrical act” put on by Erdogan himself.
“A REVOLUTION, NOT A MILITARY COUP”
Anyone who casually
swapped between Egyptian state-run or even privately-owned channels during the
chaotic early hours of Friday night knew that Erdogan's government was not in
favour.
Ahmed Moussa, one
of the most popular TV presenters in Egypt, praised the military coup and the
Turkish army, defining the events as “a revolution, not a military coup.” Moussa, who hosts a TV show
broadcast on the privately-owned channel Sada El-Balad, continued by
saying: “Erdogan spent millions of US Dollars on terrorist groups…Erdogan has
to learn a lesson: there is a difference between the coup in Turkey and the
revolution in Egypt. He (Erdogan) relentlessly tried to label Egypt’s events on
June 30 as a coup.”
However, as the
events unfolded, Moussa shifted to describe the botched coup as an “ousting
trial”, hoping that by the end of his TV show, the military coup in Turkey would
succeed.
Similarly, the
Egyptian media personality Khairy Ramadan, who hosts a talk show on the
privately-owned TV channel CBC
described Turkish military action as a "revolution” and “retaliation” against Erdogan’s policy towards Egypt after the June
30 revolution and the overthrow of the former Islamist President Mohamed
Morsi.
TheEgyptian
talk-show host Osama Kamal first mocked Erdogan for appearing on CNN-Turk television, holding an interview via mobile phone during
the early hours of the military movement. Then, adopting the same strategy of
the news website Al-Youm Al-Sabea, Kamal claimed that Erdogan
might have “staged” Friday’s bloody coup to win
people’s sympathy and regain his popularity among Turkish citizens which had recently
declined.
Some
other Egyptian media figures avowedly voiced their opinions in the early hours
of Turkey’s attempted coup via their social network accounts, especially
Twitter.
Prominent
journalist and Egyptian MP Mostafa Bakry wrote
on Twitter: “The Turkish army declares seizing power. Go to hell Erdogan.” He
even wrote another controversial tweet: “Erdogan
has gone and [President Bashar] al-Assad remains. Long live the Syrian Arab
Army. Erdogan must be trialed as a war criminal."
Another
well-known TV anchor Youssef El Hosiny was gloating over Erdogan’s fall by
writing a tweet: “These terms will be circulated worldwide to describe what had
happened in Turkey: power transfer, restoring constitutional legitimacy,
toppling Erdogan, deposing the tyrant and Erdogan’s fall.”
Shortly after the army released a statement on Turkish TV
channels of seizing power, the Egyptian state and privately-owned channels were
brim with news tickers such
as: “Pro-army demonstrations in Turkey, chants against Erdogan,” “Erdogan flees
to Germany, seeks safe haven for him and his family,” “Erdogan threatens to
create bloodbaths to restore power,” and the like. It was painful to see.
EXPECTED REACTION
In former
President Mubarak's era, journalists were divided into two camps: with
the president or the opposition.
Today most
Egyptian journalists and media figures are siding with the military government.
This trend explains why Egyptian media swerved sharply to welcoming,
unabashedly, the Turkish military coup, let alone prematurely hailing Erdogan’s
overthrow.
Tensions between Egypt and Turkey sparked after the
overthrow of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Since then, the
Turkish President, who was an avid supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and
Morsi, has been harshly condemning Egypt’s military government. He was even
seen flashing the four-finger Rabaa sign during several public speeches. Moreover,
many of the Muslim Brotherhood’s leaders found sanctuary in Turkey after
fleeing from the bloody crackdown in Rabaa and Nahda.
The animosity
between the two Middle Eastern countries reached a crescendo when Egypt
objected to a United Nations Security Council statement that urged all parties to "respect
the democratically elected government of Turkey." Egypt sees that the
council is "in no position to qualify or label that government - or any
other government for that matter - as democratically elected or not,"
according to UN diplomats.
On the other hand,
Erdogan excoriated President Sisi on his latest TV interview with Al-Jazeera, saying that he “has nothing to do with democracy. He killed thousands of his people."
In conclusion, one
could say that the antagonism between Egypt and Turkey will not come to an end
anytime soon, especially when both Sisi and Erdogan are still in power, and Egypt’s
media seems to be happy to play along with these political games.
Daoud's TV show was critical of the Egyptian government
June 28, 2016
A prominent Lebanese journalist who hosted a talk show on Egypt’s
private ONTV critical of the government of President Abdul Fattah Al
Sissi arrived in Beirut on Tuesday after authorities in Cairo briefly
detained and then deported her, her lawyer said.
Lilian Daoud
could not immediately be reached for comment. Her lawyer, Zyad Al
Elaimy, wrote on his Twitter account that her first comment after
landing in Beirut was that she will challenge the decision to deport
her.
There was no formal explanation for Daoud’s deportation from Egypt.
An
Egyptian security official, speaking on Monday on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to reporters, said
Daoud’s residency permit expired after her contract with the ONTV
station was terminated.
Al Elaimy said eight men in plainclothes
had escorted Daoud from her home in an upscale suburb in Cairo, where
she has lived for years, late on Monday, after she announced on her
social media account that the network had ended her contract.
Her
10-year-old daughter was there when the men took Daoud away, allowing
her no time to pick up luggage. She only called her family from the
plane before it headed to Beirut, Al Elaimy said.
The decision to abruptly deport Douad shocked her colleagues and other public figures.
Mohammad
Al Baradei, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and one of the Egyptian
uprising’s spiritual fathers who now lives in self-imposed exile,
applauded Daoud for her professional reporting.
“One day we may have
enough self-confidence to understand the value of having different
opinions,” he said in a subtle jab at the local authorities.
Daoud formerly worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation, and lived in London before moving to Egypt.
Her
talk show aired critical views of Egyptian President Al Sissi’s
government. Since the military overthrow of President Mohammad Morsi in
2013, the government has shown little tolerance for criticism, banning
protests and taking programs off the air.
Satirical TV host
Bassem Youssef — once described as the Jon Stewart of Egypt and whose
program was taken off the air for his criticism of the government —
said her arrest is “just the beginning.”
“Egypt ... can’t tolerate the rest of the world,” Youssef, who has also left Egypt, wrote on his Facebook.
The arrest today of the head of the Egyptian Press Syndicate and two
colleagues is an alarming setback for freedom of expression and the most
brazen attack on the media the country witnessed in decades, said
Amnesty International.
Yahia Qalash, head of Press Syndicate and senior board members Khaled
El-Balshy and Gamal Abdel Reheem were summoned for questioning on 29
May by the public prosecution. After 13 hours of questioning, the three
men were charged with ‘harbouring suspects against whom an arrest
warrant has been issued’ and ‘publishing false news, which threatens
public peace, related to their arrest.’ The prosecution ordered that the
three men be put in custody, with bail set at 10,000 Egyptian pounds
(USD$1,123), which they have refused to pay.
“The arrest of key media figures at the Press Syndicate signals a
dangerous escalation of the Egyptian authorities’ draconian clampdown on
freedom of expression and demonstrates the extreme measures the
authorities are prepared to take in order to tighten their iron grip on
power,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, interim Deputy Director of the Middle
East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International.
Successive Egyptian governments have attempted to control the media
and impose restrictions on journalists but on 1 May up to 40 heavily
armed members of the National Security agency stormed the Press
Syndicate for the first time since it was established in 1941. They
attacked journalists, beating security guards and detained two
journalists Amro Badr and Mahmoud Al-Saqqa.
They are being held in Tora
prison and have been charged with forming an illegal group with the aim
of overthrowing the government, inciting protests and publishing false
news, and belonging to the April 6 Movement, a leading youth group that
was instrumental in organizing protests in 2011.
Days later on 4 May, thousands of journalists gathered outside the
Syndicate to make a series of demands, including calling for the
dismissal of Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel Ghaffar, the release of
detained and imprisoned journalists, as well as demanding further
measures to strengthen the protection of journalists.
“By prosecuting senior members of the Press Syndicate the authorities
are clearly attempting to punish them for speaking out against the
government and to send a strong message to intimidate all journalists
into silence. The authorities must immediately order their release and
drop the charges against them,” said Magdalena Mughrabi.
Under Egyptian law, permission from the Public Prosecutor is required
in order to search the Press Syndicate premises and any search must be
carried out in the presence of the head of the Syndicate or other senior
management.
“The storming of the Press Syndicate earlier this month was
unprecedented. It is the most brazen attack on the media the country has
seen in decades. The Egyptian authorities appear to be prepared to
breach their own laws in their chilling attempt to crush all signs of
dissent,” said Magdalena Mughrabi.
“The authorities must also drop charges against the two journalists
who were detained at the Press Syndicate and investigate the
circumstances of the raid.”
At least 20 journalists are currently behind bars in Egypt imprisoned
carrying out their legitimate journalistic work, according to the
Egyptian Press Syndicate.
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