Egypt: Big Jail for Press Freedom

Cairo- In its most recent report, published on April 12, 2023, Women Journalists Without Chains assessed Egypt's state of freedom of expression and opinion. The report reveals a deeply rooted environment of oppression under military and security leaders, making Egypt one of the worst countries in terms of press freedom. The organization documented over 112 violations against journalists in 2022, including around 20 Egyptian female journalists who were subjected to various forms of mistreatment, such as imprisonment, assault, torture, and termination of employment.

The organization stated that with the ascent of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to power, the dreams of Egyptian society and journalists that were pinned on the revolution in January 2011 have since been crushed. El-Sisi seized control of Egypt in 2013 after Mohamed Morsi was deposed as president by a military coup he personally oversaw, ousting the nation's first president to be elected democratically. Since then, the government have embraced different fascist techniques to suppress even the most basic forms of criticism as pressure and intimidation against journalists and media outlets have gradually intensified.

As noted by Women Journalists Without Chains in its report entitled 'Egypt: Arsenal of Repression and Censorship,' Egypt's legal framework for controlling the press and media is extensive, boasting a formidable array of laws ranging from the Anti-Terrorism Law (2015) to the Press and Media Regulation Law (2018) and other laws that effectively place the Supreme Council for Media Regulation under full executive authority. The Law on Combating Information Technology Crimes (2018) further bolsters this arsenal.

To read the full report, click here