Statement | El-Shehab for Human Rights Condemns Harsh Sentences Against Egyptian Journalists for Their Work

The State Security "Exceptional" Court in Egypt issued today, Sunday, May 21, 2023, a verdict of life imprisonment for some Egyptian journalists working for television channels broadcasting from outside Egypt.

These sentences are part of a series of judicial rulings targeting opposition media to the Egyptian regime.The Egyptian authorities have recently issued new lists of terrorist entities, including numerous journalists and media professionals, posing a threat to press freedom and the right to expression. They have been included in a new list of terrorist entities, charged with offenses related to their media work.

The list includes journalists Hamza Zobaa, Sayed Tawakol, and Hossam Abdel Rahman from the Mekameleen channel, as well as media figure Emad El-Behairy from Al-Sharq channel. It also includes social media activists such as Amin Youssef, Abdelhakim Amer, Hisham Metwally, Islam Elwani, Ibrahim Saeid, Mohamed Ahmed, Mohamed Mohamed Saeid, Soheib Sami, Mohamed Abu-Zeid, Tarek Ibrahim, Alaa El-Din Fawzi, Ahmed Fawzi, and Mohamed Hossam.

The accusation directed to these journalists is the dissemination of false news about the spread of coronavirus deaths in Egypt and the official statements regarding the matter. The Egyptian authorities have also attributed to these journalists the charge of establishing so-called media committees for the Muslim Brotherhood.

This verdict comes within the context of a series of judicial rulings to pursue opposition media to the Egyptian regime, whether inside or outside Egypt. The Egyptian government has recently issued a new list of terrorist entities consisting of 81 individuals, including 30 journalists from Egyptian and non-Egyptian channels broadcasting from outside Egypt.

The Tenth Circuit of Cairo Criminal Court also issued a decision published in the official newspaper on April 16 of this year, extending the penalties for another five years for the list of terrorist entities (Case No. 620 of 2018). This extended list includes several journalists and media professionals, including Qutb El-Arabi, the head of the Arab Observatory for Media Freedom, and Dr. Alaa Sadik, as well as Hamza Zobaa, Gamal Nassar, Adel Al-Ansari, Abdelwahid Ashour, Ibrahim El-Darawi, Samehi Mustafa, Hisham Ghafer, Mohsen Radi, Ahmed Abdel-Aziz, Ayat Orabi, Galal Abdel-Samie Jebril, Haytham Abu-Khalil, Amani Kamal El-Din, and Mosaad Al-Barbari.

Through this new ruling and the previous ones, as well as the inclusion of journalists and media professionals on terrorism lists, the Egyptian authorities aim, to punish these journalists for their media work and using their right to express their opinions. It also seeks to restrict their movement and travel, as the inclusion on terrorism lists prohibits the issuance of passports and places their names on watchlists at Cairo Airport, etc.

El-Shehab for Human Rights affirms that these sentences and measures taken against journalists and media professionals violate press freedom and human rights, placing Egypt in a poor and discouraging position in the press freedom index.

El-Shehab for Human Rights urges the international community to intervene and address the Egyptian authorities, calling for a cessation of these violations, a review of the harsh sentences, and the release of journalists and media professionals whom are considered to be held due to their media work. It also emphasizes the necessity to protect the rights of journalists and enable them to fulfill their role in conveying facts and information.

May 24, 2023
London

#El_Shehab_for_Human_Rights