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Egypt: Extension of Esraa Abdel-Fattah and Solafa Magdy’s pre-trial detention is a grave infringement of press freedom and right to a fair trial

July 20, 2020, Cairo, Egypt — During a hearing yesterday, Egyptian Supreme National Security Court extended the pre-trial detention of journalists Esraa Abdel-Fattah, Solafa Mady, and others for 45 days.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns these constant practices of injustice and urges the Egyptian authorities to release Esraa and Solafa immediately.

Esraa Abdel Fatah was arrested on October 13, 2019. Security officers in plainclothes arrested her while she was driving in the Dokki area of Giza, west of Cairo. She was then taken to an undisclosed location where she was subjected to physical assault and forced to share her cell phone’s password. Esraa had to give in to their unjust demands to save her life.

Solafa Magdy along with her husband, photographer Husam Elsayed and journalist Mohamed Salah were arbitrarily arrested on 25 November 2019 from a café in Dokki, Cairo. Their whereabouts were unknown for over 18 hours before they were interrogated in Cairo Criminal court’s pending case No. 488 of 2019.

Although they were arrested on different dates and circumstances, Esraa and Solafa are both facing the same charges of membership of a terrorist group and disseminating false news and their arbitrary detention is pending case no.488 of 2019.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism has issued recently a call for the immediate release of journalist and human rights defender Esraa Abdel-Fattah and is closely monitoring journalist Solafa Magdy's case covered in the review on imprisoned women journalists. CFWIJ communicated with Esraa’s sister and Solafa’s mother, both of them concerned about the safety and health of the journalists due to Covid-19 breakout.

For over 120 days, family and lawyers' visits were suspended for both journalists and their pre-trial detention extended twice without their presence because of Covid-19 precautionary measures. According to Mr. Ahmed Ragheb, Esraa’s Lawyer, and Mr. Nabih Alganadi, Solafa’s lawyer, both journalists attended the hearing. The lawyers were able to communicate with them about detention and health conditions for the first time since March 9.

Egyptian authorities are using pre-trial detention as an instrument to put hundreds of journalists and human rights defenders behind bars with no trials. This is a grave violation of right to a fair trial. It’s also a clear embodiment of the judiciary system defects in Egypt.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the continuation of Esraa and Solafa’s pre-trial detention and calls upon the Egyptian authorities to review the judicial system’s unfair procedures that demolish the basis of justice. We urge the Egyptian regime to immediately release Esraa and Solafa along with others unduly arrested on the same charges.

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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ. Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org

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