CPJ, partners urge UN not to elect Egypt to Human Rights Council
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 22 other international and Egyptian rights organizations in urging United Nations member states not to vote for Egypt in October’s elections to the U.N. Human Rights Council. The letter highlights Egypt’s alarming human rights record, noting that the country regularly ranks among the world’s top 10 jailers of journalists,…
CPJ, 22 others call for Egyptian cartoonist Ashraf Omar’s release a year after arrest
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 22 other organizations in a joint letter calling for Al-Manassa cartoonist Ashraf Omar’s release a year after he was arrested July 22, 2024, and later accused of joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its purposes, spreading false news, and misusing social media. The statement also urged Egyptian authorities to…
Egypt’s intelligence-controlled media company retaliates against programs, hosts critical of government
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 22, 2025—A media company linked to Egyptian authorities suspended three prominent television programs after their hosts criticized the government and road safety failures, raising concerns about media control by state-aligned entities, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On July 16, United Media Services (UMS), a company owned and closely linked to Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, terminated its contract with…
CPJ, others call on Egypt to end transnational repression against exiled journalists
In a joint statement, led by the Committee to Protect Journalists, 25 press freedom and human rights organizations called on the Egyptian government to end its transnational repression campaign against exiled journalists, including investigative reporter Basma Mostafa, who currently lives in Germany. The statement also urged German authorities to ensure her safety and uphold international…
Egyptian journalist Rasha Qandeel charged with spreading ‘false news’ after political reports
Washington, D.C., May 29, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to end the prosecution of journalist Rasha Qandeel, who was summoned May 25, interrogated, and charged with “spreading and broadcasting false news inside and outside the country” after her reports on Egypt’s social, political, and economic developments for the independent platform Sotour. The Supreme State…
Tax audits target Hong Kong journalists, news outlets as press freedom concerns intensify
New York, May 22, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by multiple reports of “unreasonable” tax audits targeting at least six Hong Kong independent media outlets and around 20 journalists and their families, and calls on the Hong Kong government to end its weaponization of financial and tax measures against the press. The Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP),…
CPJ, others call on UK prime minister to exert diplomatic pressure to secure writer Alaa Abdelfattah’s release
In a joint letter, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 31 other press freedom and human rights organizations urged UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to intensify his diplomatic efforts to secure Egyptian-British writer Alaa Abdelfattah’s release. The letter follows a February call between Starmer and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, which has yet to yield…
CPJ, others urge UK prime minister to secure writer Alaa Abdelfattah’s release
In a joint letter, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 16 other press freedom and human rights organizations called on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to ramp up efforts to secure Egyptian-British writer Alaa Abdelfattah’s release. Abdelfattah has spent nearly a decade behind bars and now faces an additional two years in detention—despite Egyptian legal provisions that should have ensured his…
CPJ leads joint letter to Egyptian president urging release of writer Alaa Abdelfattah
In a joint letter led by the Committee to Protect Journalists, 50 prominent human rights leaders, Nobel Prize laureates, writers, and public figures have called on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to grant a presidential pardon to Egyptian-British writer Alaa Abdelfattah. The letter, sent Tuesday, highlights that Abdelfattah has spent nearly a decade behind bars…
CPJ: UK must lead joint statement on Egypt at UN Human Rights Council
The U.K. government must lead on a joint statement addressing Egypt‘s human rights crisis, according to a February 19 letter sent by the Committee to Protect Journalists and 24 other press freedom and human rights organizations to U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy ahead of the 58th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council. The letter…