London – October 24, 2016
In a new attack on press freedom in Egypt, a police force has stormed the headquarters of Al-Tareeq online newspaper, and temporarily held journalists and workers in one room, seizing their mobile phones and laptops, and preventing them from making any phone calls. The police force and the technicians with them turned on laptops and searched rooms of the headquarters. Despite they claimed that they have a permission to search the place from the prosecutors, they did not show it to journalists when they asked to see it.
The police force left the place after intimidating journalists and searching the place, but they did not state a real reason for their acts except by saying it is and precautionary procedures. This reveals the indifference of the current authorities of press offices’ sacredness, and their making light of press freedom in generals, and their desire to send more intimidation messages to journalists that no one is far from what happened even if they are not proved to be against the current regime. The website is owned by the head of the Social Democratic party, Farid Zahran, which is one of the political parties that suppoted 30th of June demonstrations upon which the regime was based. Zahran is not known to be affiliated to Muslim Brotherhood or Salafis.
Amid the same attack, the management of Al-Ahram newspaper banned the publishing of an article by one of its permanent and longtime writers who was an editor-in-chief of one of its publications “International Politics magazine”, wo is Dr. Osama Al-Ghazali Harb for only criticizing the new capital project. This is the first time his aricle be banned I Al-Ahram. Also, Al_masry Al-Youm newspaper banned an article of one of it permanent writer, Soliman Al-Hakim for only criticizing the speaker of the parliament.
This comes as public prosecution deciding to continue holding 3 ournalistes who were recently arrested during their field work. They are Hamdi Al-Zaeem of Al-Hayat, Mohammed Hassan of Al-Nabaa and Osama Al-Beshbishi of Baladi News Agency. The public prosecution charged them with spreading false news that harm national security, and photographing without official permission.
Egyptian prisons houses currently more than 100 journalists of different newspapers, TV channels and websites. Many of them suffer from severe deteriorated health conditions like journalist Hany Salahuddin whose family called upon Arab Media Freedom Monitor “Ikshef’ and Egyptian Journalist’s Syndicate to interfere quickly to save his life and move him quickly to Qasr Al-Aini hospital to undergo necessary surgeries.
Ikshef fully condemns the storming of Al-Tareeq, banning the publishing of articles for Harb and Al-hakeem, renewing of imprisonment of journalists Al-Zaaem, Hassan and Al-Beshbeshi, and it demands the quick transfer of journalist Salahuddin to receive medical treatment and undergo required surgeries in Qasr Al-Aini hospital.
