As Elections Near, Egypt Finds a New Target: Foreign News Media
- 6 years ago
As Elections Near, Egypt Finds a New Target: Foreign News Media
In comments that appeared aimed at the foreign news media, Mr. Sadek accused outlets of spreading false news "to disturb the public order and terrorize society." A day earlier, Egypt had called for a boycott of the BBC over a documentary
that aired last week detailing torture and illegal abductions by Egyptian security forces.
A long list of rules announced by the national election commission in February seeks to dictate the questions journalists can ask voters, prohibits them from using photographs or headlines "not related to the topic"
and forbids them from making "any observations about the voting process." "These rules made me laugh, and scared the hell out of me at the same time," said Gamal Eid, a leading lawyer and human rights activist.
The BBC said in a statement: "We stand by the integrity of our reporting teams." While Mr. Sisi has long treated Egyptian news outlets harshly, jailing dozens of reporters
and blocking about 500 websites, he has generally spared foreign reporters the worst measures.
28, 2018
CAIRO — Egypt’s chief prosecutor delivered a withering broadside against the news media on Wednesday, blaming the "forces of evil" for negative coverage
and instructing his staff to take legal action against outlets deemed to be undermining Egypt’s security.
Journalists have been regularly detained and prosecuted under Mr. Sisi — Reporters Without Borders ranked Egypt 161st out of 180 countries in its 2017 Press Freedom Index —
but the pace of arrests has quickened in recent weeks.
Four serious candidates who might have challenged Mr. Sisi were sidelined, jailed or threatened with prosecution before they could even get on the ballot,
and on Feb. 14 the authorities arrested Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, an opposition leader who contested the 2012 election but is not running this time.
In comments that appeared aimed at the foreign news media, Mr. Sadek accused outlets of spreading false news "to disturb the public order and terrorize society." A day earlier, Egypt had called for a boycott of the BBC over a documentary
that aired last week detailing torture and illegal abductions by Egyptian security forces.
A long list of rules announced by the national election commission in February seeks to dictate the questions journalists can ask voters, prohibits them from using photographs or headlines "not related to the topic"
and forbids them from making "any observations about the voting process." "These rules made me laugh, and scared the hell out of me at the same time," said Gamal Eid, a leading lawyer and human rights activist.
The BBC said in a statement: "We stand by the integrity of our reporting teams." While Mr. Sisi has long treated Egyptian news outlets harshly, jailing dozens of reporters
and blocking about 500 websites, he has generally spared foreign reporters the worst measures.
28, 2018
CAIRO — Egypt’s chief prosecutor delivered a withering broadside against the news media on Wednesday, blaming the "forces of evil" for negative coverage
and instructing his staff to take legal action against outlets deemed to be undermining Egypt’s security.
Journalists have been regularly detained and prosecuted under Mr. Sisi — Reporters Without Borders ranked Egypt 161st out of 180 countries in its 2017 Press Freedom Index —
but the pace of arrests has quickened in recent weeks.
Four serious candidates who might have challenged Mr. Sisi were sidelined, jailed or threatened with prosecution before they could even get on the ballot,
and on Feb. 14 the authorities arrested Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, an opposition leader who contested the 2012 election but is not running this time.