Journalist in possession of footage documenting torture charged and interrogated
(HRinfo/IFEX) – HRinfo condemns the charges and the investigation launched against Huweida Taha, a journalist from Al-Jazeera TV. Taha is being investigated because she was in possession of footage documenting torture in Egypt that was to be broadcast on a show by the television channel. Security forces confiscated the videotapes while Taha was on her […]
Academic, political activist and publisher face defamation claim over book documenting feudal abuses
(HRinfo/IFEX) – The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) is highly concerned by the defamation claim filed by a feudal family against an academic, Dr. Sherin Abu El Naga, a political activist, Shahenda Mekled, and the owner of the Dar Merit Publishing House, Mohamed Hashem. HRinfo is also worried about the attempt to confiscate […]
On governor’s orders, police storm and attempt to close headquarters of NGO that countered official claims
(HRinfo/IFEX) – The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) is highly concerned by the resolution of the Qalubia governor to close the Ahalina Centre for Egyptian Family Support and Development (Ahalina). The governor’s resolution is an act of revenge on Ahalina, which had disclosed the falseness of his mid-November statements that all slum areas […]
Blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman has spent six weeks in custody
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has repeated an appeal for the release of blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman – known as Kareem Amer – who has been held in custody for six weeks after posting articles critical of Islam on his blog ( http://www.karam903.blogspot.com ). Amer, aged 22, who was arrested on 6 November 2006, […]
Blogger’s detention extended for another 15 days
(HRinfo/IFEX) – HRinfo condemns the extension of Abdel Karim Suliman Amer’s detention for an additional 15 days. The blogger, also known as Kareem Amer, is in detention while being investigated only because he practiced the basic right to express his own thoughts on his blog. On 22 November 2006, Mohram Bek Court considered the extension […]
Hundreds of plainclothes police prevent journalists from covering Cairo demonstration
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has protested against the harassment and intimidation of numbers of local and foreign journalists covering a demonstration against the sexual harassment of women in the capital, Cairo, on 14 November 2006. “It is disturbing that in Egypt physical assaults on journalists have become systematic during this type of public demonstration,” […]
Blogger dismissed from university, detained and interrogated, faces possible imprisonment for expressing secular views
(HRinfo/IFEX) – The following is an 11 November 2006 HRinfo press release: Egyptian Human Rights Organizations Condemn the Ongoing Detention of Egyptian Blogger and the Violation of His Right to Freedom of Expression Kareem Amer is detained for an additional 15 days Cairo, 11 November 2006 – On 8 November 2006, the Public Prosecutor’s Office […]
Professor target of death threats; EOHR concerned by trend of labeling people as “infidels” for expressing their opinions
(EOHR/IFEX) – EOHR is very concerned about the aggressive campaign being waged against Dr. Souad Saleh, a professor of Islamic jurisprudence at the Azhar University, following her publicly stating her opinion on the Niquab (the Islamic full body veil), saying it is not compulsory in Islam. Her statement angered many fundamentalists, some of whom have […]
Government censorship office seizes copies of book on religious extremism
(EOHR/IFEX) – The following is an 11 October 2006 EOHR press release: The Confiscation of the Book “Modern Sheikhs”: A New Drawback to Freedom of Expression EOHR expresses its deepest worries concerning the decision of the Egyptian Censorship Office to confiscate the book “Modern Sheikhs and the Making of Religious Extremism” by Dr. Mouhamed Fattoh, […]
Journalists harassed, face defamation charges for exposing corruption
(HRinfo/IFEX) – HRinfo condemns the harassment directed against “Al-Ahram” newspaper reporter Ahmed Al-Najar, by the lawyers and partisans of the newspaper and its advertising official, Hassan Hamdi, during the hearing for the “insult” and defamation claim filed against Al-Najar, which took place at Dokki Misdemeanor Court on 2 October 2006. Dokki is a district of […]
Governments ban newspaper editions on pope’s controversial comments
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 27 September 2006 CPJ press release: Tunisia, Egypt ban newspaper editions on controversy over pope’s comments New York, September 27, 2006 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by Tunisian and Egyptian government decisions to ban recent issues of European newspapers addressing the controversy caused by remarks […]
EOHR releases 2005 annual report on freedoms situation
(EOHR/IFEX) – The following is an 18 September 2006 EOHR press release: EOHR Announces the Release of its Annual Report 2005 on Thursday 21st September 2006 EOHR will hold a press conference on 21 September 2006 to announce the release of its 2005 Annual Report, which documents the human rights and basic freedoms situation in […]
Reuters journalist harassed by state security
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about Summir Said, a young woman journalist working for the Reuters bureau in Cairo who is being harassed by the security services. Security agents made threats when they went to her home on 7 September 2006, saying she would regret it if she did not report at […]
HRinfo welcomes newspaper’s decision to end filtering of staff access to Internet
(HRinfo/IFEX) – HRinfo welcomed the 13 August 2006 decision of “Al-Ahram” newspaper to stop filtering its staff’s access to websites, which it had begun doing a few days prior. The measure prevented the newspaper’s staff from accessing any blog associated with Google, which administers nearly 80 percent of all Egyptian blogs. On 8 August, HRinfo […]
Months of harassment force Coptic blogger to censor herself
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has condemned the months of harassment by the authorities in Qina (near Luxor, in central Egypt) that forced Hala Helmy Botros to close down her blog, Aqbat Bela Hodood (Copts Without Borders, http://halaelmasry.blogspot.com/ ), about the persecution of the Christian Coptic minority and to stop writing on this subject for […]
“Al-Ahram” newspaper filters staff access to Internet
(HRinfo/IFEX) – In a procedure that violates press freedom and the right to exchange information, “Al-Ahram” newspaper, the largest press foundation in the Middle East and North Africa, installed a filter to block websites that the newspaper finds unfit for journalists to browse while on the “Al-Ahram” internal network, which serves nearly 15,000 staff members, […]