Egypt / Middle East & North Africa

  

CPJ joins call for the release of Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah, lawyer Mohamed al-Baker

CPJ has joined 46 human rights organizations and individuals in calling for Egyptian authorities to immediately release Egyptian journalist and blogger Alaa Abdelfattah and his lawyer Mohamed al-Baker after three years of imprisonment. The September 29 letter also calls on British authorities to intervene to secure the release of Abdelfattah, who obtained U.K. citizenship while…

Read More ›

Egyptian authorities summon 4 Mada Masr journalists for interrogation

New York, September 6, 2022 – In response to news reports that Egyptian authorities recently summoned four journalists from the independent news website Mada Masr for interrogation, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement calling for authorities to cease harassing the outlet and its staff: “Egyptian authorities should drop their attempt to interrogate…

Read More ›

Egyptian journalist Raouf Ebeid detained since July

New York, August 25, 2022—Egyptian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Raouf Ebeid and drop the charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. On July 7, state security forces arrested Ebeid, a reporter for state-owned weekly print newspaper Rose al-Yousef, from his home in Cairo, and detained him in an unknown…

Read More ›

CPJ joins call for Biden administration to withhold $300 million in military aid to Egypt

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 19 other civil society organizations on Monday, August 8, in an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, urging the Biden administration not to provide its full proposed military aid to Egypt due to the country’s treatment of journalists and…

Read More ›

CPJ joins call urging Egyptian government to respect human rights ahead of COP27

In a joint open letter on July 14, 2022, the Committee to Protect Journalists joined 20 other civil society groups in urging German officials meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to press the Egyptian leader to reopen civic space in the country. The letter is addressed to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and State Secretary…

Read More ›

CPJ calls on Biden not to normalize journalist killings and imprisonment ahead of Middle East trip

New York, June 14, 2022 – In response to Tuesday’s announcement of U.S. President Joe Biden’s upcoming visit to Israel, the West Bank, and Saudi Arabia to meet with regional leaders, the Committee to Protect Journalists reiterated a call for the U.S. government to press for accountability for the killings and imprisonment of journalists. Biden…

Read More ›

Imprisoned Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah’s sister Sanaa Seif: ‘Since the book is out, his voice is out too’

When Egyptian journalist Alaa Abdelfattah was re-arrested in September 2019 for sharing a tweet with allegations of wrongdoing by a state security officer, he ended up back in prison under the same watchful gaze of authorities who had warned him a few months prior to stop reporting, or he would “regret it.” However, Abdelfattah did…

Read More ›

CPJ welcomes Egypt’s release of two journalists, says others must also be freed

Washington, D.C., April 26, 2022 – The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes news reports that Egypt has included journalists Mohamed Salah and Abdo Fayed among its latest prisoner releases, but calls on Egyptian authorities to release at least 23 other journalists in custody. “We are pleased that Salah and Fayed are getting some relief after…

Read More ›

Egyptian authorities arrest journalist Ahmed al-Bahy on inciting violence charges

New York, April 18, 2022 – Egyptian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Ahmed al-Bahy and drop any charges filed against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On Saturday, April 16, state security forces arrested al-Bahy, a correspondent for local independent news website Masrawy in the Monufia Governorate in Egypt’s Nile Delta…

Read More ›

Multi-year prison terms for Egyptian journalists Alaa Abdelfattah and Mohamed Oxygen ‘unacceptable’

New York, December 20, 2021 – In response to a Cairo court’s sentencing today of journalists Alaa Abdelfattah and Mohamed Oxygen to multi-year prison terms, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement of condemnation: “Egypt’s sentencing of journalists Alaa Abdelfattah and Mohamed Oxygen to years in prison is unacceptable, and demonstrates the lengths…

Read More ›