Database | Weighing China cases | Imprisoned in Panama | Video: Turkey: Prison For Journalists
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New York, December 27, 2016--Egyptian authorities must release Al-Jazeera news producer Mahmoud Hussein immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Officials initially questioned Hussein on December 20 when he arrived in Egypt on a family visit from Qatar, where he is based, according to reports. Hussein was arrested on December 23, Al-Jazeera said.
New York, December 23, 2016--Egypt must lift the travel ban imposed on Esraa Abdel Fattah, an Egyptian blogger, columnist, and social media activist, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Abdel Fattah has been under a travel ban for nearly two years, alongside other bloggers and civil society activists who authorities have accused of illegally receiving foreign funding.
Reports | Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, India, Iran, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nigeria, Panama, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia
At least 81 journalists are imprisoned in Turkey, all of them facing anti-state charges, in the wake of an unprecedented crackdown that has included the shuttering of more than 100 news outlets. The 259 journalists in jail worldwide is the highest number recorded since 1990. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser
In Egypt last week a journalist was barred from travel without official explanation, a reporter was accused of criminal defamation over a 2015 investigation on child prostitution, and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi defended Egypt's freedom of expression record. An appeal date was also set for the Journalists' Syndicate leaders who were sentenced this month to two years in prison.
News of the hospitalization of an imprisoned photojournalist after security forces cracked down on an uprising in Borg al-Arab prison tops the list of attacks on the press last week in Egypt. Also last week: Two leaders of the Journalists' Syndicate were sentenced to two years in prison each but remain free on bail; a presidential pardon included two journalists who had nearly completed their prison terms; a court ordered the release of Ismail Alexandrani, but the prosecution successfully appealed; and finally, Mahmoud Abou Zeid Shawkan was at last allowed to tell the judge hearing his case that he is a photojournalist.
New York, November 19, 2016 - The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the conviction of three leaders of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate today on charges of harboring a fugitive. A Cairo court sentenced Yehia Qallash, the chairman of the syndicate, and board members Khaled al-Balshy and Gamal Abdel Rahim to two years in prison, according to news reports. The court set bail of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (US$628) each pending appeal.
Four journalists were detained November 11 amid a heavy deployment of security forces in Egypt's cities in response to calls for nationwide protests over economic reforms. The protests were fewer and smaller than anticipated, but journalists were still harassed and, in some cases, arrested, according to local and international media. One journalist remains in custody. Separately, a gag order on an investigation into the funding of civil society organizations remains in place, and courts are due to hear two criminal defamation cases brought by public officials against reporters.
Restrictions against the press continue in Egypt, with ongoing trials of journalists, some of whom have been in detention for more than three years, allegations that a TV station was ordered to drop a planned broadcast of an interview with a former official, and a reporter detained while trying to cover a sensitive story. Egypt has been a leading jailer of journalists for more than a year, and the country's press is regularly harassed. CPJ has documented the following press freedom violations in the past week:
New York, September 30, 2016 - Egyptian authorities should immediately drop all charges against four journalists arrested in Cairo this week, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The three journalists still in detention told their lawyer security forces had beaten and electrocuted them during interrogation.
Impact | Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia
Next stop for exhibit of Shawkan's work: Photoville
In mid-September, CPJ partnered with the Bronx Documentary Center to hold an exhibition of photographs taken by Mahmoud Abou Zeid, or Shawkan, a freelance journalist who has been imprisoned in Egypt since August 2013. Many of Shawkan's photos--from protests and celebrations in Tahrir Square to daily life in Cairo--were taken during the Egyptian revolution.
Do you believe the free flow of information must be protected? Sign the #RightToReport petition and demand that President Obama immediately:
1. Issue a presidential policy directive prohibiting the hacking and surveillance of journalists and media organizations.
2. Limit aggressive prosecutions that ensnare journalists and intimidate whistleblowers.
3. Prevent the harassment of journalists at the U.S. border.
Or click here to see the full petition, and join leading journalists like Christiane Amanpour, The Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger, Editor of the AP Kathleen Carroll, and Arianna Huffington in signing on.
