Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE)

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.

A recent case involving controversial Egyptian TV presenter Reham Saeed has all the elements needed to examine the tensions that can arise between the right to privacy and freedom of expression. In a Q&A piece published this week, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression used Saeed’s most recent media blunder to do just that.

The International Press Institute and 23 IFEX members sent a letter to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad calling for the release of lawyer and human rights defender Mazen Darwish ahead of his court hearing on 25 March 2015.

Artistic expression was under tight control in Egypt before the January 2011 revolution, and remains so today.

Haunted by the toppling of former regimes by popular protest and despite the fact that, since 2011, they have all been brought to power through citizens exercising their right to protest, successive governments have all maintained a hostile view towards peaceful assembly.

More than 100 civil society organisations ask the UN Secretary General to recognise the importance of free expression rights in the sustainable development goals.

While peacefully marching to demand the repeal of Egypt’s protest law and the release of prisoners of conscience, 23 activists were detained and charged on groundless accusations.

More than 100 groups and individuals worldwide call on Egyptian President el-Sisi to remove the unjust sentencing of three Al Jazeera journalists.