Egypt
Mubarak’s resignation raises hope of new libertiesPosted Feb 16 2011
After more than two weeks of protests, and an equal time of media harassment, Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation on Friday, Feb. 11, “is fueling hopes for freedom and pluralism in this part of the world,” said Reporters Without Borders.
“Egyptian journalists who have courageously found ways to work under the yoke of Mubarak’s censorship and repression are releasing a sigh of relief that they’ve held in for three long decades,” said the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Jean-Francois Julliard, Reporters Without Borders secretary-general, said this “symbolic first step must be followed through all the way to the creation of a real democracy in which journalists and netizens are no longer afraid to express their views, in which diversity of ideas and opinions no longer entails any risk of imprisonment, and in which the right to receive and impart news and information is truly respected.”
On Thursday, Feb. 10, Egyptian-blogger Abdul Kareen Suleiman Amer was released from prison. He was arrested on Feb. 7 leaving Tahrir Square.
“Amer had recently served a four-year prison term for his writing,” according to CPJ. “That means that all detained journalists whom CPJ had been tracking over the past 18 days are now free.”
Mahamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa coordinator, recounted this story from a friend who was at a rally: “As the official announcement was made that Mubarak had stepped down, the crowd roared in approval. Almost immediately, my friend relayed, a military officer went up to the reporter and handed him a professional camera with a massive lens. The officer said: ‘We were made to confiscate this camera from a journalist the other day. We had no choice. I don't even know who that guy was and there is no way to track him. You're a journalist; you'll make good use of it. Take it and document the people's revolution.’”
Egypt’s military remained largely uninvolved in the protests – both refusing to protect embattled protesters during violent outbreaks, but also not stopping the protests.