LONDON – 25/05/2016
(Ikshef) – Arab Media Freedom Monitor “Ikshef ” condemns deporting French journalist Rémy Pigaglio correspondent for the French newspaper La Croix by Egyptian authorities and preventing him from entering Egypt, especially that he is officially certified by those authorities, and holds a valid visa.
Ikshef considers his detention for 30 hours and confiscation of his passport, mobile phone and some of his belongings in the international zone at the airport a confirmation of the Egyptian authorities’ indifference to respecting fundamental freedoms and international law
Ikshef confirms that this move or restrictions on foreign journalists is not the first of its kind, but was preceded by preventing American journalists accompanying US Foreign Secretary John Kerry, on May 19. Also, airport authorities in February stopped the German-Egyptian researcher Atef Botros also for some time; beside Walid Al-Sheikh journalist of Deutsche Welle and his wife, journalist Ingy Salama for some time late in April. Moreover, a BBC correspondent complained in April last year of harassment by Cairo airport officers. Airport authorities already prevented a number of Egyptian journalists from traveling like FahmY Huwaidy, Abdel Halim Qandil and Ramy Jan.
This last action against the French journalist came in the context of a general state of repression against freedom of the press in Egypt. Authorities closed many local media outlets, jailed about 90 Egyptian journalists, fired dozens and made many jobless. Authorities’ prevention of foreign correspondents aims at hiding the bad reality Egyptians facing generally and the Egyptian media sector in particular, and in order not to let the world know about the realities of things going on in Egypt.
Ikshef highlights that if the French journalist was subjected to ban from entering the country in violation of international laws, Egyptian authorities deal harshly with Egyptian journalists who work in local newspapers and TV channels or as reporters in Egypt. Many of them face death sentences, such as what happened with Al-Jazeera journalists who were recently sentenced to death as well as dozens of journalists who were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Ikshef calls for the international community and organizations concerned with media freedom of expression to exercise more pressure on Egyptian authorities to stop the repression against press freedom and the release of imprisoned journalists.
