Egypt
Pressure on journalists could continue as the international press leavesPosted Feb 9 2011
Even as protests are quieting, journalists and bloggers continue to face harassment in Egypt.
Wael Ghonim, a Google marketing executive, was released Monday, Feb. 7, from prison after disappearing on Jan. 28. Ghonim was “one of the people behind the anonymous Facebook and YouTube campaign that help galvanize the protest” and has become a symbol for the protest organizers, according to The New York Times.
During a television interview after his release, Ghonim said he had been kidnapped, blindfolded and held for 12 days by Egyptian authorities, The New York Times story reported. He wrote in English on his Twitter account: “Freedom is a bless that deserves fighting for it.”
On Sunday, Feb. 6, military police reportedly detained blogger Abdul Kareen Suleiman Amer and filmmaker Samir Eshra as they were leaving Tahrir Square – the center of protests for the last week – according to Reporters Without Borders. “Kareen Amer owes his prominence to his virulent criticism of the regime,” Reporters Without Borders said in its update. “We fear the authorities will use this opportunity to send him back to prison for a long time.”
Amer was arrested in 2005 and 2006 for criticizing the government and the Sunni University of Al-Azhar. In February 2007, he was sentenced to four years in prison for inciting hatred of Islam and insulting the president. He was just released on Nov. 15, 2010, Reporters Without Borders said.
Another blogger, Asma Mahfouz, told the BBC on Feb. 5 that she has received threats against her and her family from Mubarak supporters. Mahfouz had urged her fellow Egyptians to “take to the streets” on Jan. 25, according to Reporters Without Borders.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported on Saturday, Feb. 5, that Egypt’s state media are encouraging violence by “giving frequent airtime to presenters and guests who claim that foreigners, including international journalists, have a ‘hidden agenda’ against the government.”
Freedom House detailed several laws that allow restrictions and government intervention in the media, including the Emergency Law, the Press Law and penal code provisions. “Journalists have few professional protections and no right to access of information, and they remain vulnerable to prosecution under these laws,” according to Freedom House. “Although there are more than 550 newspapers, magazines, journals and other periodicals in Egypt, this apparent diversity disguises the government’s role as a media owner and sponsor.”
Though the state officially sanctions a free press and the Mubarak government pledges to uphold the rights of journalists, state-sponsored media blame the press for the recent turmoil, according to CPJ. “In the current climate, such rhetoric is extremely dangerous, as it could be interpreted as a green light to violent forces that have engaged in a systematic campaign to intimidate journalists,” said Mohamed Adbel Dayem, the CPJ Middle East and North Africa coordinator, on CPJ’s website.
“Reporters Without Borders is also concerned about the possibility of reprisals against local journalists, bloggers and fixers as the international media gradually leave Egypt,” according to its website.