Repression against journalists in Egypt continues after authorities last month detained two journalists and held them in undisclosed locations before later accusing them of “false news”. The IPI global network condemns Egypt’s unacceptable treatment of Khaled Mamdouh Ibrahim and Ashraf Omar. Authorities must drop charges against them, uphold due process, and release all journalists languishing in Egyptian jails. Egypt must uphold its constitutional and international obligation to protect the press.
Just after midnight on July 16, Egyptian security forces raided the house of Khaled Mamdouh Ibrahim, a journalist for Arabic Post. Ibrahim’s family told the news outlet Mada Masr that the authorities arrested Ibrahim and his son, searched the house, and confiscated his laptop and phone. They refused to show a search warrant or any identification. The security forces released Ibrahim’s son later that night, but Ibrahim was taken to an unknown location.
After five days of enforced disappearance, during which multiple local NGOs repeatedly requested information of his whereabouts, Ibrahim reappeared in court on July 21st to be investigated on suspicion of “joining and financing a terrorist group” and “publishing false news”. He was put in pretrial detention for 15 days pending the investigation. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the detention was renewed twice on July 29 and August 12, with no date set for a hearing.
On July 22, at 1:30am, plain clothes policemen raided the home of news translator and satirical cartoonist Ashraf Omar. His wife, Nada Mougheeth, reported that security forces confiscated his laptop, phone, and a large sum of money. They blindfolded him and took him to an undisclosed location.
For 48 hours, Omar’s whereabouts were kept secret. His next appearance was reported by defense lawyer Khalid Ali, who posted to Facebook that Omar is to be investigated on suspicion of “joining and financing a terrorist group”, “publishing false news”, and “misuse of social media technologies”. Pending the investigation, he was put in pre-trial detention for 15 days. On August 18, an Egyptian state prosecutor renewed Omar’s detention for another 15 days during a video conference held in his absence. Omar’s arrest comes after he published cartoons to the news platform Al-Manassa mocking the electricity crisis and Egypt’s monorail plans.
Local sources indicate that nearly two dozen journalists are detained in Egypt, many of whom have been repeatedly deprived of due process rights. Egypt’s pre-trial detention laws allow authorities to arbitrarily detain individuals for up to two years. Yet authorities can bypass that upper limit through a practice called “tadweer”, which involves rotating defendants from one case to another. The same charges brought against Ibrahim and Omar have been used to keep journalist Tawfik Ghanem in unbearable conditions for the past 3 years.
“The arrests of Khaled Mamdouh Ibrahim and Ashraf Omar underline the abysmal condition of press freedom in Egypt. We are deeply concerned for the wellbeing of Ibrahim and Omar, as well as the other journalists in Egypt that are arbitrarily held in inhumane conditions for years on end”, said Amy Brouillette, IPI Director of Advocacy. “IPI demands the immediate release of the two journalists arrested last week. We call upon authorities to cease their abuse of false news and terrorism laws to silence critical journalism and free expression.”
