Violations undermining credibility of presidential elections and increasing pressures on the press
London – April 2, 2018
March 2018 has witnessed a series of repressive attacks on freedom of press in Egypt in the same time the mid-month presidential elections were held abroad, followed by March 26-28 elections inside the country and with earlier preparations since the beginning of the month.
This repressive wave was not confined to Egyptian journalists, but extended to foreign correspondents in Cairo because of their coverage of the electoral process and the accompanying manifestations which were covered by these foreign correspondents. This angered the Egyptian authorities from foreign coverage, as well as some local coverage that led to punishing the media outlets and journalists who did it with excessive fines and referral to the state security prosecution and the Egyptian Journalists’s Syndicate.
Arab Media Freedom Monitor “Ikshef” has monitored a repressive climate against journalists and media professionals before the presidential elections in January and February 2018. In confirmation of the indicators highlighted by Ikshef in the past two months, the presidential elections were held in a climate of fear and intimidation against journalists, not allowing any other opinion other than the official one of the Egyptian authorities. The National Elections Commission participated in preventing journalists from performing their role in doing their work by refusing or disabling issuing permits for them. According to incoming information, the final word concerning the participants in covering the elections was for the security authorities.
Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, Masr Al-Arabia website and the Al-Manassa website have become victims of government-affiliated figures inciting against these media outlets because of them spotting violations in elections most notably involvement of state institutions rallying for a specific candidate. The Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCM) imposed a fine of 150,000 Egyptian pounds (8,522 dollars) on Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper and referred its editor-in-chief and the editor of a report on the state’s interference in the mobilization for elections to the prosecution and referred them to investigation in EJS. SCM has imposed a fine on Masr Al-Arabia website because of translating a foreign news report on elections in Egypt. The Egyptian authorities blocked Al-Manassa website after revealing the falsity of what was described as the delegation of the US Congress monitoring the elections. The website of Watan TV channel, which is broadcast from outside Egypt, and Torath Ikhwan website were also deleted.
Press in Egypt, including foreign correspondents in Cairo, in general in March has suffered tight control of the security services and media regulatory institutions, especially the SCM and the State Information Service, as the local press, with their newspapers and TV channels, was generally dedicated to support candidate Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi blatantly, without allowing any opposition voices, and attacking and criticizing the opposition and politicians who planned to run for president before being arrested or placed under house arrest. Also, many TV hosts have committed violations on top of which inciting the authorities and the society against political opponents who called for a boycott of the elections as a legitimate political action. Many activists have already been arrested during photographing empty polling stations, or gatherings of dancer in front of polling stations.
By the end of March, there have been 92 jailed journalists, media professionals and freelance reporters (cooperating with satellite TV channels and independent or opposition press organizations). This has come after being referred the illegal non-competent terror courts, violating the law and the constitution, continuing to violate their rights to stand before their natural judge and to apply fair trial standards. This includes the continued case of enforced disappearance of journalist Hossam El-Wakil.
In March 2018, Ikshef has been able to record 32 violations. Top violations were varied against journalist during the presidential elections, including detention, jailing, forced disappearance, medical negligence, investigation, stopping TV programs and imposing restriction on publication. Election-related violations numbered 9. Restrictions on publication were in second place with 6 violations, they were in the fourth place last month. Violations in prisons ranked third with 5 violations. Flawed trials ranked fourth with 3 violations.
Updated List of Jailed and detained Journalists (92) in Egypt till March 31, 2018:
1. Ibrahim Khalil Al-Dadrawi (Al-Qawmiya for distribution and Afaq Arabiya)
2. Ibrahim Suleiman (5thTV channel – state TV)
3. Ibrahim Talha (Freelance journalist)
4. Ibrahim Mohammed Abdul-Nabi Awwad (Rassd network)
5. Ahmed Abu-Zeid Al-Tanoubi (Al-Diyar)
6. Ahmed Bayomi (Al-Diyar)
7. Ahmed Hamouda Mohammed Al-Sakhawi (Tahya Misr newspaper)
8. Ahmed Khamis Anwar Abdul-Qawi (freelance journalist)
9. Ahmed Khamis Mahmoud Kheder (freelance journalist)
10. Ahmed Abdul-Aziz (Al-Mawqef Al-Arabi)
11. Ahmed Abdul-Aziz Farahat (Masr Al-Arabia website)
12. Ahmed Abdul-Latif (Al-Manara website)
13. Ahmed Abdul-Monem Zahran (Al-Mukhtar Al-Islami magazine)
14. Ahmed Ali Ahmed Al-Najjar (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
15. Ahmed Ali Abdul-Aziz (Ghad Al-Thawra)
16. Ahmed Ali Abdu Afifi (producer of documentaries)
17. Ahmed Muharram Abdul-Salam (freelance reporter)
18. Osama Gaber Abdul-Salam Al-Beshbeshi (Baladi website and Al-Diyar newspaper)
19. Islam Al-Ashri (aka Mohammed Ahmed Ashri) (freelance photographer)
20. Islam Gomaa (cameraman, Misr 25 TV channel)
21. Islam Abdul-Gayed Sayed Abdul-Aal (aka Islam Gheit) (freelance reporter)
22. Islam Abdul-Aziz (freelance reporter)
23. Asmaa Kamel Hassan Zidan (Fikra post and Al-Quds Al-Arabi websites)
24. Ismail Al-Sayed Omar Al-Iskandrani (reseacher and freelance journalist)
25. Ihab Hamdi (journalists and translator)
26. Badr Mohammed Badr (former editor-in-chif of Al-Osra Al-Arabiya)
27. Bakri Abdul-Aal (Al-Raya newspaper)
28. Belal Abdullah Ahmad Abdul-Rahim (freelance reporter)
29. Jamal Al-Alem (Misr 25)
30. Hossam Al-Sewefi (Al-Fagr newspaper)
31. Hossam Al-Wakil (freelance journalists and former manager of Al- Dostor newspaper office in Alexandria)
32. Hassan Al-Banna Mubarak (trainee journalist in Shorouk newspaper)
33. Hussein Abdul-Halim (Al-Dostor newspaper)
34. Hamdi Mokhtar Al-Zaaem (Al-Hayat website and Baladi news agency)
35. Khaled Hamdi Abdul-Wahab (Misr 25 TV channel)
36. Khaled Abdul-Aziz (Misr 25 TV channel)
37. Khaled Mohammed Abdul-Rauf Sahlob (photojournalist, Rassd News network)
38. Ragab Ahmed Al-Geddawi (Freelance reporter)
39. Sameh Al-Ballah (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper)
40. Samhi Mostafa Ahmed Abdul-Alim (journalist, Rassd News Network)
41. Said Abu Haj (Sinai Media Center)
42. Said Hashaad (journalist, Fikra post website)
43. Sayed Musa (Amjad TV channel)
44. Sherif Abdul-Muttaleb (freelance reporter)
45. Shereen Said Bekheet (freelance reporter)
46. Suhaib Saad Mohammed Al-Haddad (freelance reporter)
47. Tarek Zeyada (media editor)
48. Abdul-Rahman Ramadan Shahin Al-Meselhi (Misr 25 TV channel)
49. Abdul-Rahman Ali Mahmoud (freelance reporter)
50. Abdullah Ahmed Mohammed Ismail Al-Fakharani (Rassd News Network)
51. Abdullah Jamaluddin Moftah (freelance reporter)
52. Abdullah Helmy Mohammed Khalil Shousha (Amjad satellite channel)
53. Abdullah Rashad (Albawabhnews.com)
54. Aliaa Awwad (photojournalist, Rassd News Network)
55. Ammar Samir Abdul-Ghani Mohammed Al-Nesr (freelance journalist)
56. Ammar Abdul Majid (Al-Hadath website)
57. Omar Khedr (Rassd News Network)
58. Omar Mohammed Mabrouk Al-Sawi (Stringer for Al-Jazeera TV channel)
59. Amr Al-Khafif (Former director of broadcast engineering in ERTU)
60. Karim Taha Shalabi (journalist, Al-Masdar)
61. Magdi Ahmed Hussein (editor-in-chief of Al-Shaab Al-Jadeed)
62. Mohsen Yusuf Al-Sayed Radi (managing editor of Al-Tugariyeen and Al-Daawa magazines)
63. Mohammed Ibrahim Sharaf (Al-Hayat Misr TV channel)
64. Mohammed Ibrahim Shukri (Al-Omma satellite TV channel)
65. Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed Shehata (freelance journalist)
66. Mohammed Al-Husseini (photojournalist, Al-Shura website)
67. Mohammed Al-Sakhawi (freelance reporter)
68. Mohammed Al-Said Al-Dashti (Al-Mashhad newspaper)
69. Mohammed Jamal (freelance reporter)
70. Mohammed Hijazi (Misr 25 TV channel)
71. Mohammed Hossamuddin Abdul-Halim Al-Kafrawi (freelance reporter)
72. Mohammed Hassan Abossoul (journalist, Akhbar Al-Youm)
73. Mohammed Hassan Mostafa Mohammed (Al-Nabaa Al-Watani)
74. Mohammed Khaled (Freelance journalist)
75. Mohammed Ragab (freelance reporter)
76. Mohammed Salahuddin Madani (Misr 25 satellite TV channel)
77. Mohammed Salah Sowaidan (correspondent, IkhwanOnLine website)
78. Mohammed Salah Sharara (Qatari Al-Watan newspaper)
79. Mohammed Abdul-Nabi Fathi (freelance reporter)
80. Moahmmed Ali Salah (Al-Shaab Al-Jadeed newspaper)
81. Mohammad Mohammed Mostafa Al-Adli (Amjad satellite TV channel)
82. Mohammed Mostafa Bayoumi (freelance reporter)
83. Mahmoud Abu Zeid, (aka Shawkan) (Demotix photo agency)
84. Mahmoud Hussain Gomaa (program producer, Al-Jazeera TV channel)
85. Mahmoud Khalil (Egyptian Radio)
86. Mahmoud Dawood (30youmnews website)
87. Mahmoud Mohammed Abdul-Nabi Awwad (Rassd News network)
88. Mostafa Al-Asar ((journalist, Altra Sawt website)
89. Moataz Wadnan (journalist, HaffPost website)
90. Hisham Jaafar (journalist, researcher and manager of MADA media foundation)
91. Yusuf Talaat (producer, Al-Sabab TV channel)
92. Wagdi Khaled (photojournalist)
