Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE)

An Egyptian island in Saudi hands leads to a five-year sentence for an IFEX member’s young researcher.

Just a few hours before World Press Freedom Day, a security force with the Interior Ministry raided the syndicate’s headquarters.

Police have arrested youth from cafes in downtown Cairo, at metro stations, at random police checkpoints and from their homes.

At a time when the torture and murder of Egyptians have become a mark of patriotism, defenders of the victims of these crimes are being prosecuted.

This January, Egyptian authorities prevented academics Atef Botros and Amel Grami from entering Egypt on the basis that they “represented a danger to national security,” raising questions concerning freedom of movement and freedom of expression in Egypt.

Head of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information Gamal Eid’s travel ban is the latest in a string of arbitrary travel bans targeting activists and human rights advocates in Egypt.

Leading investigative journalist and human rights advocate Hossam Bahgat, who was arrested on 8 November under accusations of spreading “false news” and held in military detention, was released on 10 November.

Military prosecutors ordered the detention of investigative journalist Hossam Bahgat on the morning of 9 November for four days pending interrogation on charges related solely to his writings as a journalist. The prosecutors refuse to tell lawyers where Bahgat is being detained.