Int’l Rights Group Slams Egypt over Press Crackdowns

Amnesty International has issued a scathing report, accusing Egyptian authorities of cracking down on journalists for “daring to deviate from the official [government] narrative.” In the report, issued on Sunday, Amnesty said: “Over the past four years, the [Egyptian] authorities have subjected dozens of journalists and other media workers to arbitrary arrest and detention, prosecutions on trumped-up ‘terrorism’-related charges and dismissals simply for expressing critical views. Security forces have raided the few remaining independent online media platforms… and blocked hundreds of websites. The adoption of draconian media and cyber legislation in 2018 further granted the authorities overly broad powers to regulate media content, restrict journalists’ freedom of expression and impose prison terms for criticism online.” The rights group examined 37 cases in which journalists had been arrested and found that of these, 12 were “affiliated [with] government-owned media outlets or institutions that position themselves as supportive of the government.” The Associated Press says that “multiple” requests for a response from an Egyptian government press officer went unanswered.