CPJ calls on Egypt’s prosecutor general to support request to free Shawkan
Dear Prosecutor General Nabil Sadiq. The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to you because of our deep concern for photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid, known as Shawkan, who is due to stand trial in Cairo Criminal Court on December 12, 2015. Shawkan’s lawyers told CPJ they will ask the court to release him from custody We request that you support this request. Shawkan was at Rabaa Al-Adawiya in August 2013 not as a protester or a criminal, but as a journalist.
CPJ welcomes Al-Jazeera pardons, calls for all other journalists in Egypt to be freed
New York, September 23, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the presidential pardon today of Al-Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, who have been in prison since they were sentenced in a retrial on charges including “aiding a terrorist organization.” Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi pardoned 100 prisoners today, on the eve of the…
Egypt should release Shawkan, photographer detained for two years
New York, August 13, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to release freelance photographer Mahmoud Abou Zeid, also known as Shawkan, from prison immediately and drop the baseless allegations against him. By the time of his hearing on Monday, Shawkan will have exceeded the two-year legal limit on pretrial detention, according to…
Egypt arrests press advocate, accuses him of belonging to banned group
Washington, July 24, 2015–Egyptian authorities on Tuesday arrested the head of a journalists syndicate and accused him of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the arrest and calls on the Egyptian government to release Aboubakr Khallaf immediately.
Mission Journal: In Egypt, glimmer of hope in bleak press environment
After a series of high-level meetings to discuss press freedom concerns with Egyptian officials in Cairo this week, it was heartening to hear that journalists Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed had been granted bail after more than 400 days in prison.
One journalist released, Al-Jazeera trial begins in Egypt
New York, March 4, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release from jail of one reporter in Egypt and calls on authorities to release all other journalists held behind bars. While the release of a second journalist is pending, a trial begins on Wednesday for three imprisoned journalists affiliated with the Qatari-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera,…
Journalists detained, attacked amid unrest in Egypt
New York, August 19, 2013–New York, August 19, 2013–Several journalists working for international media said they were assaulted or briefly detained over the weekend. The attacks and harassment came as Egyptian authorities publicly accused international journalists of distorting coverage of recent events.
