ARCHIVES: Egypt
Egyptian authorities have taken unprecedented measures to block media coverage of widespread protests against the government, which are on their fourth day. Cairo's news blackout has been widely condemned and authorities have been urged to immediately restore Internet and mobile phone services, end the targeting of the press, and allow media to conduct their work freely. Since Tuesday, Egypt has witnessed widespread protests against poverty and corruption, and calls for democratic changes... MORE
The police have been resorting to widespread violence against journalists covering Egypt’s street protests. It is hard to establish exactly how many journalists have been arrested or physically attacked by police officers in the past 48 hours. According to the latest information obtained by Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF), more than a dozen journalists have been arrested. "We urge the Egyptian authorities to allow journalists to work without fear of being... MORE
Journalists were arrested and attacked physically while covering demonstrations on Tuesday and Wednesday in various Egyptian cities. The authorities have been doing everything possible to keep the media at a distance in order prevent the circulation of images of protesters demanding President Hosni Mubarak’s departure, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). No TV station was able to film yesterday’s big protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The authorities... MORE
The misdemeanors appeals court in Egypt fined Abdel Halim Kandil , former editor of the Sout elUmmah newspaper, EGP 10,000 (approx. US$1,700) and Ahmed Abulkheir, a journalist at the same paper, EGP 15,000 (approx. US$2,600). They were both convicted on December 25 of insult and libel in relation to their coverage of filmmaker Akram elSobky's wedding party, according to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). On February 16, Sout elUmmah published a story about elSobky's... MORE
There have been numerous cases of deliberate obstruction in Egypt of journalists trying to cover the second round of legislative elections on December 5, just as it had in the first round on November 28, Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported. The landslide victory of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) was no longer in doubt after massive fraud during the first round, condemned unanimously by observers in Egypt. Tension levels were slightly down,... MORE
Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has condemned the six-month jail sentence that a military court imposed on blogger Ahmed Hassan Basiouny on November 29 on charges of disseminating defence secrets online and “disclosing information relating to the Egyptian armed forces.” Basiouny was arrested for creating a Facebook page in 2009 that provided advice and information for young people thinking of enlisting in the Egyptian army. The authorities meanwhile deployed an... MORE
Alexandria-based journalist and human rights activist Youssef Shaaban being held on a trumped-up drug charge. A reporter for the independent online newspaper Al-Badil, he was arrested during a demonstration on November 20 by residents in the Alexandria neighbourhood of Abu Suleiman, who were protesting against their eviction, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). The press freedom organisation has learned that Shaaban was arrested while photographing a... MORE
Egyptian authorities should immediately release Youssef Shaaban, a reporter for the online newspaper Al-Badil who was arrested while covering street protests in Alexandria, and drop the criminal charges against him, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has demanded. Shaaban was arrested Friday during a demonstration against a new construction project in the Abu Suleyman neighborhood that local residents say threatens their buildings with collapse. Dozens of people were... MORE
Abdul Kareem Suleiman Amer, the Egyptian blogger known as Kareem Amer, was finally set free on the evening of November 15, 10 days after completing a four-year jail sentence, and is now reunited with his family. He has decided for the time being to make no statement, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF). The blogger was again subjected to physical mistreatment at the headquarters of the internal security department in Alexandria during the 10 days he was... MORE
Egyptian authorities must immediately release blogger Abdel Karim Suleiman, known online as Karim Amer, who completed his four-year prison sentence on November 5, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has demanded. CPJ also called on authorities to investigate and punish a security officer who reportedly assaulted Amer on Tuesday. The government's continued imprisonment of Amer reflects its overall abusive treatment of the blogger, who was subjected to repeated instances of... MORE
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