77 violations most notably verdicts against media workers
Depriving a journalist in preventive detention of running in EJS elections
Continuation of jailing of 96 journalists, releasing one
London –March 7, 2017
Despite February was the least in violations since September 2016 with 77 violations and not including new jailing or enforced disappearance with one case of release, however, it has witnessed many jail verdicts with long terms. There were many prison verdicts of 5 years in prison labor were issued against Ayat Orabi, Abdul-Rahaman Yusuf and Mohammed Shoman. Also, Al-Gomhouria journalist Safwat Omran was sentenced to 6 month in prison, with similar terms against Hala Al-Badry, former editor-in-chief of Al-Eza’a wal-Television magazine, and journalist Saad Jalal in the same magazine.
There were other forms of violations like violations in prison, trials and complaints, coverage bans, physical abuses and insults, raids, publishing bans, closures of programs, media gag, with only one case of release from prison.
Releases: 1 case
February has witnessed one release of journalist Mosaab Hamed correspondent of Misr 25 satellite channel after 37 days of ruling by a military court in Alexandria.
Violations in prisons: 5 cases
February has witnessed 5 violations in the prisons, included journalist Abdul-Rahman Shahin, who suffered harsh treatment in Zagazig prison, and was deprived of his basic rights, and being held in poorly ventilated cell, making him exposed to a severe circulatory collapse. Also, Shrin Bakhit (a freelance journalist) has faced inhumane violations of torture and harassment, and morale violations, where she was forced to record a humiliating video to force her to confess to crimes she did not commit. This is well as denying medicines and completion of treatment of both journalist Mahmoud Hussein media worker Mohamed Shoukri
Trials and complaints: 56 cases
February has witnessed 56 trials, communications sentences to imprisonment. Perhaps these verdicts are what has characterized this month, where several prison sentences of 6 months to 5 years were issued and included five-year terms with labor against both the writer Abdel-Rahman Youssef, media worker Ayat Orabi and artist Mohamed Shoman. Moreover, Hala Al-Badry, former editor-in-chief of Al-Eza’a wal-Television magazine, and journalist Saad Jalal in the same magazine, as well as journalist Safwat Imran of Al-Gomhouria newspaper were sentenced to 6 month in prison
This section has witnessed the routine scases of fining a number of journalists like Abdul-Rahim Al-, Abdul-Halim Qandeel and Khaled Salah. This is in addition to renewal of helding in custu and adjourning sessions of Hamdy Al-Zaem, Osama Al-Beshbesh, Mohammed Hassan, Mohammed Al-Batawy and Mohmoud Hussein of Al-Jazeera.
Also, journalist Hassan Al-Qabbany, who is in held in custody, filed a lawsuit against not allowing him to run in elections of Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate council.
Coverage Ban: 7 cases
February witnessed 7 coverage bans. Ministries came to the fore including agriculture and supply ministries where journalists were prevented from entering the ministry of agriculture to cover a conference for the minister. A journalist was prevented from entering the ministry of education for criticizing the minister. Also, security of Zagazig hospital prevented journalists from covering a protest of nurses at the hospital. Two courts prevented journalists from covering trials including one tackling the case of the head of EJS and two of its Board members.
Physical abuses and insults: 5 cases
February witnessed 5 cases, including one by melee weapons on Mounir Makram at the hands of thugs; detention of the journalist Yahya Abdul-Rahman for several hours by security of Cairo University; assaulting photojournalist Sulafa Magdi by the locals; threatening of arrest of the journalist Abdul-Aziz Mubarak of Masr Alarabiya website as well as the assault a filmmaker’s guards against journalists and photographers.
Publishing bans: 2 cases
February has witnessed two cases: a correspondent of ON TV Live was banned of entering the channel headquarters for criticizing Al-Sisi’s regime on his Facebook page. The second case is of Abdul-Naser Salama, whose archive was deleted by Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper as a pi\punishment for criticizing AUE in an article in the newspaper.
Closures of programs: 1 case
There was one case of Khaled Tallima who ended his work with ON TV without elaboration in a post on Facebook.
Media gags: 1 case
There was one case of the Directorate of Waqfs in Suez governorate that banned general managers and heads of departments from issuing any press comments or statements, after an imam talked in Friday sermon on February 3 about the goal keeper of national team, Esam Al-Hadary.
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Below is an updated list of detained journalists in Egypt till Feb. 28, 2017 (96 Journalists):
- Magdi Ahmed Hussein (Editor of Al-Shaab Al-Jadeed)
- Hani Salah Al-Din (Managing editor of Youm7)
- Hisham Jaafar (MADA)
- Ismail Al-Iskandrani (Freelance journalist)
- Mahmoud Hussain, Al-Jazeera news network
- Reem Qotb Jabarah, independent film director
- Mohammed Farag, freelance journalist
- Nabil Al-Ashri, editor of Mubasher website
- Mohammed Al-Shaer, of Mubasher website
- Mohammed Salah Sharara, Qatari Al-Watan
- Hamdi Abdul-Aziz (Zoomnews)
- Hamdi Al-Zaaem (Al-Hayat)
- Mohammed Hassan (Al-Nabaa Al-Watani)
- Osama Al-Beshbeshi (Baladi website)
- Mohammed Haz (Freelance journalist)
- Omar Adel (Zoom News website)
- Mohammed Al-jenidi (Freelance journalist)
- Hussein Abdul-Halim of Al-Dostor)
- Ahmed Sebaie (Head of Al-Aqsa TV office in Egypt)
- Hassan Al-Qabbani (Al-Karama newspaper)
- Mohammed Saber Al-Batawi (Al-Akhbar)
- Ibrahim Al-Dadrawi (Al-Qawmiya for distribution)
- Mohsen Radi (Al-Daawa)
- Said Abu Haj (Sinai Media Center)
- Amr Al-Khafif (Former director of broadcast engineering in ERTU)
- Emad Abu Zaid (Al-Ahram)
- Mohammed Abossoul (Akhbar Al-Youm)
- Abdo Desuqi (Ikhwanweb)
- Mohammed Ibrahim Shukri (Al-Omma TV channel)
- Walid Shalabi (Ikhwan Online)
- Yusuf Talat (Al-Sabab TV channel)
- Mahmoud Mostafa Saad (Alnahar newspaper)
- Ammar Abdul Majid (Al-Hadath website)
- Sabri Anwar (Elbadil newspaper)
- Samhi Mostafa (Rassd network)
- Ibrahim Suleiman (5thTV channel – National TV)
- Omar Abdul-Maksoud (Masralarabia.com)
- Mahmoud Abu Zeid, (aka Shawkan) (Demotix photo agency)
- Bakri Abdul-Aal (Al-Raya newspaper)
- Mohammed Al-Saeed Al-Dashti (Al-Mashhad newspaper)
- Abdul-Rahman Shahin (Freedom and justice newspaper – Aljazeera TV channel)
- Mohammed Salah Madani (Misr 25 TV channel)
- Musaad Al-Barbari (Director Ahrar 25 TV channel)
- Khaled Hamdi (Misr 25 TV channel)
- Khaled Abdul-Aziz (Misr 25 TV channel)
- Jamal Al-Alem (Misr 25 TV channel)
- Osama Ezzuddin (Misr 25 TV channel)
- Mohammad Al-Adli (Amjad TV channel)
- Abdullah Al-Fakharani (Rassd network)
- Moataz Mostafa Shahin (Freedom and Justice newspaper)
- Mohamed Salah Sowaidan (Freelance photographer)
- Mahmoud Abdul-Nabi Awad (Rassd network)
- Ibrahim Abdul-Nabi Awad (Rassd network)
- Khalid Abdul-Rauf Sahlob (Rassd network)
- Khaled Hamza (Managing editor of IkhwanWeb)
- Sayed Musa (Amjad TV channel)
- Karim Mostafa Al-Sayed (Al-Shabab TV channel)
- Mohammed Ezzat (Ikhwan Online)
- Abdullah Shousha (Amjad TV channel)
- Ahmed Lashin (Misr 25 TV channel)
- Shadi Abdul-Hamid (Freelance correspondent)
- Suhaib Saad Al-Haddad (Freelance correspondent, Aljazeera)
- Khalid Mohammed Abdul-Rahman (Freelance correspondent, Aljazeera)
- Wael Al-Heddini (Freelance correspondent)
- Mohammed Mamoun Abu Shousha (Ahrar 25 TV channel)
- Ibrahim Talha (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Mahmoud Jamal Ali Othman (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Mohyi Qasem Mohammed Abdul-Jawwad (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Mohammed Mostafa Abdul-Nasser Abdul-Qadir (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Ahmed Muharram Abdul-Salam (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Salam Yaqout (Freelance reporter)
- Sameh Mohammed Ahmed Bakri (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Abdullah Jamal Moftah (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Ammar Samir Abdul-Ghani Ahmad (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Ahmed Khamis Mahmoud Kheder (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Belal Abdullah Ahmad (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Abdul-Rahman Hassan Abdul-Hafiz (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Ahmed Khamis Anwar Abdul-Qawi (Stringer for satellite TV channels
- Osama Hashem Mohammed Hashem (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Mohamed Hossamuddin Abdul-Halim Al-Kafrawi (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Omar Mohamed Mabrouk Al-Sawi (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Ahmed Ali Ahmed Al-Najjar (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Shehata (Stringer for satellite TV channels)
- Islam Gomaa (Misr 25 TV channel)
- Ahmed Hamouda Al-Sakhawi (Misr newspaper)
- Ahmed Al-Mansi (Shabab News website)
- Mahmoud Abdul-Latif (Shabab News website)
- Ibrahim Samir (Freelance correspondent)
- Islam Al-Banna (Freelance correspondent)
- Islam Atef (Al-Omma website)
- Ahmed Abu Khabeer (Al-Omma website)
- Ahmed Maher Ali (Freelance correspondent)
- Assem Abdul-Fattah (Al-Omma website)
- Omar Khedr (Rassd network)
- Omar Mabrouk (Freelance journalist)
- Mahmoud Yahia (Al-Omma TV channel)
