On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, the Law and Democracy Support Foundation (LDSF) calls on the Egyptian authorities to put an end to the grave and systematic violations to which press freedom in Egypt has been subjected for years. These violations include the arbitrary arrest and detention of journalists, severe restrictions on media work, the imposition of a single‑narrative policy and the monopolization of public discourse, as well as the use of legal and security tools to suppress dissenting opinions and control the circulation of information.
For more than a decade, Egyptian authorities have imposed an environment of extreme hostility toward freedom of opinion, expression, and the press. This environment is characterized by the systematic blocking of news websites, widespread surveillance of media outlets and the internet, and control over the ownership of the majority of traditional media, either directly or through groups supportive of or affiliated with the ruling authorities. Journalists have also been subjected to ongoing judicial and security harassment, including years‑long imprisonment without trial through the abusive use of prolonged pretrial detention, based on vague and overly broad charges routinely deployed against critics and perceived opponents.
Such violations extend to trials that fall far short of the minimum guarantees of independence, fairness, and due process. They also increasingly reach beyond Egypt’s borders, as authorities attempt to silence critical voices abroad through transnational repression aimed at monitoring, intimidating, and targeting journalists and their families inside Egypt.
Dozens of journalists and media workers remain behind bars solely due to the restrictive policies imposed by the authorities, either for carrying out their professional duties or for peacefully expressing their opinions. These detentions are carried out amid the systematic use of prolonged pretrial detention and vague charges such as “spreading false news” or “joining a banned group,” in the absence of genuine guarantees of fair trial and judicial independence.
During his speech marking World Press Freedom Day, the head of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate announced that 19 journalists are currently being held in pretrial detention in violation of the law, emphasizing the persistence of the journalists’ detention crisis despite the fact that many detainees have exceeded the maximum detention periods permitted under Egyptian legislation. He renewed the Syndicate’s call for the release of all detained journalists, whether held in pretrial detention or referred to trial.
The Syndicate head attached to his speech an official list containing the names of the detained journalists: Safaa Al‑Korbeigy, Karim Ibrahim, Mostafa El‑Khatib, Ahmed Sebaa, Badr Mohamed Badr, Mahmoud Saad Diab, Yasser Abu Al‑Ela, Hamdy Mokhtar, Tawfiq Ghanem, Mohamed Saeed Fahmy, Mohamed Abu Al‑Maati, Mostafa Saad, Abdallah Samir Mubarak, Medhat Ramadan, Ahmed Abu Zeid Al‑Tanoubi, Ramadan Goweida, Khaled Mamdouh, Ashraf Omar, and Hussein Karim.
In this context, the Law and Democracy Support Foundation expresses deep concern over the escalating pattern of transnational repression practiced by the Egyptian authorities, who are increasingly recognized internationally as a key perpetrator of such abuses. This repression targets Egyptian journalists and media professionals in exile through a range of methods, including politically motivated legal prosecutions—such as the in absentia referral of journalist Abdelrahman Fares to trial—coordinated defamation campaigns, physical assaults and surveillance, as documented in the case of journalist Basma Mostafa, as well as pressure on journalists’ family members inside Egypt through so‑called “proxy repression,” including the arrest of the father of podcast host Seif El‑Islam Eid.
These practices are accompanied by the use of electronic surveillance and spyware, as documented by Access Now in its reporting on the case of journalist Mostafa Al‑Aasar, who was targeted by sophisticated digital attacks alongside online incitement campaigns.
Transnational repression aims to intimidate journalists, force them into self‑censorship, and undermine independent Egyptian journalism in exile, in parallel with the continued closure of civic and public space inside Egypt and the tightening of restrictions on all platforms for freedom of expression.
On this occasion, the Law and Democracy Support Foundation urgently calls on the Egyptian authorities to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release all journalists detained for their work or peaceful expression.
- End the use of prolonged pretrial detention as a punitive and abusive measure.
- Lift the blanket ban on news websites and guarantee the public’s right to access information.
- Cease all forms of transnational repression against Egyptian journalists and media workers in exile.
- Bring national legislation and practice into full compliance with international standards on freedom of expression and press freedom.
