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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
In Middle East and North Africa, a drop in attacks on journalists belies dire state of press freedom
The Middle East and North Africa region has long been especially dangerous for journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists’ research has found that one out of every three reporters killed worldwide in retaliation for their work since 1992 — 477 out of 1,422, or 33.5% – were located in the region. That proportion rose to…