September 20, 2016
LONDON (Ikshef) – Arab Media Freedom Monitor “Ikshef” is rejecting and condemning the decision of the Egyptian authorities to close the office of the two Qatari newspapers Al-Saharq an Al-Arab in Cairo, which comes in the context of an organized crackdown against the free press, starting since the first day of the third of the July 2013 coup by closure of some channels, newspapers, websites and television programs.
Ikshef confirms that the closures of the two offices are not based on any objective grounds, but it reflects a mentality hostile to freedom of the press on the one hand, and also reflects the political harassment against the Qatar on the other.
The observatory notes that the closures represent a serious damage to dozens of Egyptian families where their sons work (there are about 100 full-time Egyptian journalist in offices as well as many freelancer. The closures decision has come immediately after the verdict to confiscate money and property of some human rights centers on freedom of information and expression and their heads, including Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Hisham Mubarak Law Center (HMLC), Nadim Center and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)
The move also comes after the storming of the Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate itself and the arrest of two journalists from inside. This beside the other jailed journalists either by court orders or decisions of the public prosecutor (92 journalists) on charges relating to the press and media.
