NEWS

Egypt: Media crackdown continues as Index award winner arrested
Amid the constant Egyptian government promises these days that it is committed to reform, growth and dialogue with all opposition forces, it’s worth noting that the campaign of harassment, detention and arrest of activists and journalists has never actually stopped. On Sunday, Ayman Mohieldin, a journalist with Al-Jazeera English spent at least six hours bound […]
07 Feb 11

Amid the constant Egyptian government promises these days that it is committed to reform, growth and dialogue with all opposition forces, it’s worth noting that the campaign of harassment, detention and arrest of activists and journalists has never actually stopped.

On Sunday, Ayman Mohieldin, a journalist with Al-Jazeera English spent at least six hours bound and blindfolded before finally being released.

Monday brought the news that blogger and activist Kareem Amer had been arrested along with documentary filmmaker Samir Eshra.

Amer’s detention is particularly poignant since the 26-year old had already spent four years in jail for his online writings — which bluntly stated his atheist beliefs. Amer won the Hugo Young Award for Journalism at the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression awards in 2007. He was released in November of last year.