Egypt / Middle East & North Africa

  
Egyptian security forces stand guard outside a Cairo court during a high-profile trial in January 2018. Prosecutors in August ordered four journalists to be detained on charges of false news and belonging to a banned group. (Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

Egypt extends detention period for four journalists held as part of mass trial

New York, August 21, 2018– Egyptian national security prosecutors ordered four more journalists to be detained as part of a case in which more than a dozen journalists, along with academics and activists, are charged with belonging to a banned group and with spreading false news. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on authorities…

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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi gives a speech in capital Cairo on July 24, 2018. Egypt ordered five more journalists detained in the last two weeks of July 2018. (AFP/Khaled Desouki)

Egypt extends detention of five journalists

Washington, D.C., July 26, 2018– Egyptian national security prosecutors in the past two weeks prolonged the detention of at least five journalists, according to Egypt’s Journalists’ Syndicate, the local press freedom group Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), and news reports. Authorities accuse the journalists, who had been arrested separately beginning in March, of…

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Supporters of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Tahrir square in April 2018 after the results of the country's recent presidential elections were announced. The country's authorities have continued to clampdown on the press using false news charges after the elections, according to reports. (Reuters/ Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

CPJ calls on Egyptian authorities to release journalists held on false news charges

Washington, D.C., July 10, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Egyptian authorities to drop the charges against a group of journalists held in pretrial detention for false news and release the journalists immediately.

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The Nile River in Cairo, Egypt on April 25, 2018. Egyptian authorities on May 23, 2018, detained prominent Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas, according to news reports. (Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

Egyptian authorities detain blogger Wael Abbas

New York, May 23, 2018–Egyptian authorities should release immediately Wael Abbas, a blogger who has documented Egyptian police abuse, and end their senseless campaign against the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Police at dawn today detained Abbas at his Cairo home and took him to an undisclosed location, according to news reports,…

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Military forces in North Sinai, Egypt, in December 2017. A military court has sentenced freelancer Ismail Alexandrani, who reported on unrest in the region, to 10 years in prison. (Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

Military court in Egypt sentences journalist to 10 years in jail

New York, May 22, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemned the sentencing today of Egyptian freelancer Ismail Alexandrani. A military court in Cairo found Alexandrani guilty of being a member of a banned organization and spreading false news, and sentenced the journalist to 10 years in prison, according to news reports.

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Justice Delayed

Mahmoud Abou Zeid (Shawkan) CPJ welcomes the release of Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid, also known as Shawkan, on March 4, 2019, after over five and a half years of arbitrary detention on anti-state charges. Despite walking out of jail, Shawkan is still not entirely free. For five years, the photojournalist will have to appear…

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Supporters of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Tahrir Square after presidential election results in Cairo, Egypt on April 2, 2018. Since Egypt's presidential elections, authorities have stepped up their campaign against critical and independent journalists and have cracked down on those conducting man-on-the-street interviews, according to CPJ research. (Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

CPJ alarmed by Egypt’s detention of video blogger Shadi Abu Zaid

New York, May 8, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over the detention of Shadi Abu Zaid, a video blogger who produces and anchors his own satirical news show.

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Supporters of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Tahrir square after presidential election results in Cairo, Egypt on April 2, 2018. Egyptian authorities stepped up censorship during last month's presidential campaign, arresting journalists on

Egypt arrests 3 local journalists in 24 hours

Washington, D.C., April 6, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Egyptian authorities to immediately release three journalists who have been taken into police custody or disclose their whereabouts and accusations against them.

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Supporters of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Tahrir square in Cairo on April 2, 2018. Egyptian authorities have shuttered independent newspaper Masr al-Arabia, though its staff is still working remotely, according to news reports. (Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

Egypt raids independent website, arrests editor over election coverage

Washington D.C, April 4, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the retaliatory measures taken by Egyptian authorities against the independent news website Masr al-Arabia for its coverage of last week’s presidential elections and calls on the authorities to release the website’s editor.

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People walk near a billboard showing a picture of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the presidential election in Cairo, Egypt, March 28, 2018. During the election, Egyptian authorities blocked news sites and threatened journalists with retaliatory measures, according to reports. (Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Egyptian authorities lash out against media over election coverage

New York, March 30, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the actions taken by Egyptian authorities against media outlets and journalists reporting on the country’s presidential election, which took place March 26-28.

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