Egypt / Middle East & North Africa

  
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi speaks at the Military Academy in Cairo, Egypt, February 19, 2018. The Egyptian government has cracked down on the media ahead of a scheduled presidential elections next month, in which President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is running virtually unopposed, according to media reports. (Reuters/The Egyptian Presidency/Handout)

Egypt’s top prosecutor orders authorities to monitor media for “fake news”

New York, February 28, 2018–Egyptian authorities should immediately cease their intimidation campaign against independent news outlets, and let journalists report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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In Cairo, Egypt, a woman sips on a cup of tea as she sits behind a poster of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who will run for a second term in an upcoming election. The poster reads "We've chosen you for a second term". (Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

Egyptian journalist detained, disappears in state custody

New York, February 20, 2017–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the detention and subsequent disappearance of Egyptian journalist Moataz Wadnan, and today called on the country’s authorities to make public what they know about his whereabouts.

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Egyptian fishermen on the Nile River as the sun sets in Cairo, Egypt, in April 2015. Ahead of presidential elections scheduled between March 26 and 28, 2018, the Egyptian government has been keen to silence any critical reporting, CPJ research shows. (AP/Hassan Ammar)

Egyptian public must be able to access all news sites

New York, February 6, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Egyptian authorities to ensure that the public has easy access to a full range of news and information sources in the lead-up to presidential elections scheduled for next month.

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A poster, pictured in Cairo in October 2017, calls for President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to run in elections. Egypt's March vote will be held while the state of emergency is still in place. (Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Ahead of March elections, Egypt extends state of emergency and tightens censorship

The New York Times reported this week that Egypt ordered a criminal investigation into the paper over its report alleging that an intelligence officer told several TV hosts they should persuade viewers to accept President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The investigation comes in the same week that Egypt’s parliament voted…

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Press freedom oppressors, clockwise from left: Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey, and Donald Trump of the U.S. (Reuters/AFP/AFP/AP)

In response to Trump’s fake news awards, CPJ announces Press Oppressors awards

Amid the public discourse of fake news and President Trump’s announcement via Twitter about his planned “fake news” awards ceremony, CPJ is recognizing world leaders who have gone out of their way to attack the press and undermine the norms that support freedom of the media. From an unparalleled fear of their critics and the…

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Journalists and protesters hold placards outside an Istanbul court on October 31, 2017, calling for the release of jailed colleagues, including Turkish reporter Ahmet Şık. Turkey is the worst jailer of journalists in 2017. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Record number of journalists jailed as Turkey, China, Egypt pay scant price for repression

For the second year in a row, the number of journalists imprisoned for their work hit a historical high, as the U.S. and other Western powers failed to pressure the world’s worst jailers–Turkey, China, and Egypt–into improving the bleak climate for press freedom. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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A worker cleans a EU flag in Berlin on May 19, 2017. The EU parliament is due to vote on October 12 on a proposed review mechanism of surveillance tool exports. (AFP/John MacDougall)

Press at risk as EU-based companies export surveillance software to hostile regimes

In August, Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen told the daily newspaper Information that the government had authorized sales of online surveillance software to several Middle Eastern countries. While acknowledging the potential for human rights violations that could result from the use of these tools, the minister said that Denmark has an interest in the fight…

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A man sits on a cliff overlooking Greater Cairo in August. An Egyptian news website says it believes one of its journalists is detained by police in the region. (AP/Nariman El-Mofty)

Egyptian crime reporter disappears on way home from work

New York, August 28, 2017– The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about the disappearance of Egyptian journalist Abdulla Rashad, and today called on authorities to disclose whether they have him in custody and why. Rashad, who reports on crime for al-Bawaba News, was last seen leaving the news website’s office on August 17, according…

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Dozens of Egyptians shout slogans during a protest in Cairo against an accord to hand over control of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. Journalist Hany Salah el-Deen is arrested on accusations of 'inciting protests.' (AP/Amr Nabil)

Egyptian journalist arrested months after acquittal on terrorism charges

New York, August 22, 2017–Egyptian authorities should immediately release Hany Salah el-Deen, the former managing editor at the pro-government news website Youm Sabea, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A computer in an internet cafe in Cairo displays an error message in this December 2, 2008, file photo. (Reuters/Amr Dalsh)

Egypt should stop blocking access to rights organizations’ websites

Washington, D.C., August 18, 2017 – Egyptian authorities should immediately stop blocking access to the website of the international press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF, for its French acronym) and the Egyptian group the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Internet users in Egypt have been…

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