His Excellency Muhammad Hosni Mubarak
President of the Republic of Egypt
Cairo
Egypt

Vienna, 20 September 1994

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), representing over 2000 journalists and editors from leading newspapers, magazines and broadcasting organizations and news agencies in over 85 countries, is most concerned about the assassination by gunmen of Labib Ibrahim, a television cameraman with Egyptian Television in Southern Egypt on 17 September.

IPI is informed that an armed group attacked a convoy of UNICEF employees and policemen as they were driving from Luxor to Qena. Ibrahim and four policemen were killed in the attack for which the Islamic Group, al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, later claimed responsibility.

IPI considers these attacks against the press to be a violation of freedom of the press and we urge your government to conduct a full investigation of this and other possible incidents and to bring those responsible to justice.

I should be most grateful if you would give this appeal your personal attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director