Egypt / Middle East & North Africa

  
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…

Read More ›

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.

Read More ›

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…

Read More ›

Egyptian journalists protest the jailing of their colleagues at the Journalists' Syndicate in Cairo, May 3, 2016. (Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Egypt censors Al-Mesryoon newspaper, harasses editors

New York, August 8, 2017–Egyptian authorities should stop censoring Al-Mesryoon newspaper and harassing its journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities banned this week’s edition of the newspaper and summoned Al-Mesryoon Editor-in-Chief Gamal Sultan and Managing Editor Mahmoud Sultan for interrogation, according to Gamal Sultan and news reports.

Read More ›

Egyptian photojournalist Mohammed Elshamy was forced to leave his home country for fear of arrest. Elshamy is showcasing his work as part of CPJ's Lens in Exile Instagram series. (Andrei Pungovschi)

Lens in Exile: CPJ Instagram takeover to put focus on photojournalists

To highlight the work of journalists living in exile, CPJ is collaborating with a group of photojournalists, who will take over our Instagram account to share their work, often from the very assignments that forced them to flee. As CPJ’s Journalist Assistance Program Coordinator and someone with a background in photography, it is project that…

Read More ›

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (left), King Salman of Saudi Arabia (center), and U.S. President Donald Trump inaugurate the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 21, 2017. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

Calls to shutter Qatari media show contempt for press freedom

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt to drop demands that Qatari-funded media be closed as a condition for the lifting of the partial blockade they have imposed on Qatar.

Read More ›

In this file photo, Egyptians access the internet at a community center in Cairo, February 9, 2013. (AP/Amr Nabil)

Egyptian human rights group reports 64 websites blocked

Egyptian authorities blocked access to at least 64 websites, including dozens of news websites, between May 24 and June 12, 2017, according to Egyptian human rights group the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression and news reports. The number was substantially higher than the 21 websites security officials on May 24 told Egypt’s official…

Read More ›

An Egyptian uses his phone to record the aftermath of a deadly explosion outside a police headquarters in December 2013. Journalists who use smartphones and messaging apps in their reporting say they are wary of surveillance and trolling under Egypt's press crackdown continues. (AP/Ahmed Ashraf)

How surveillance, trolls, and fear of arrest affect Egypt’s journalists

As Egypt’s crackdown on the press extends to social media and other communication platforms, many journalists say phishing attempts, trolling, software to monitor social media posts, and a draft law that would require registration for social media users are making them think twice before covering sensitive issues.

Read More ›

CPJ joins call for Egypt to stop blocking access to news websites

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 20 human rights and press freedom organizations in calling on Egyptian authorities to stop blocking access to Mada Masr and the 22 other news websites. The letter, sent May 26, says the blocking of the sites violates international standards.

Read More ›

A screen shot shows an error message internet users receive when trying to access the news website Mada Masr. (Mada Masr)

Egypt blocks access to 21 news websites

New York, May 26, 2017–Egyptian authorities should immediately stop blocking access to news websites, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Egyptian government on May 24 ordered internet service providers to block access to 21 news websites, alleging that they supported terrorism or reported “false news,” the government’s official Middle East News Agency reported.

Read More ›