Egypt: Journalism deemed a crime. Journalist Basma Mostafa abducted and detained for covering a story.
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Egypt: Journalism deemed a crime. Journalist Basma Mostafa abducted and detained for covering a story.
October 4, 2020, Cairo, Egypt—Journalist Basma Mostafa was abducted and later detained for covering the murder of a citizen in the Luxor Governorate at the hands of a national security officer. The Supreme National Security court decided to put Basama in 15 days pre-trial detention over her journalistic activities. The Coalition For Women In Journalism is enraged by such actions of the Egyptian authorities against journalists and press freedom and we call for the immediate release of Basma.
On Saturday, October 3, 2020, Basma arrived in Luxor governorate to cover the murder of Ewais Alrawy, who was murdered in Luxor by a national security official. This case sparked protests in the governorate calling for justice and the police dispersed it violently. Upon Basma’s arrival in Luxor, a sub-police officer in duty stopped her and checked her ID and documents. Basma informed a family member about this incident and that the sub-officer is tailing her. One hour later her phone was shut down and her whereabouts were unknown for more than a day.
Basma spent 26 hours in enforced disappearance. Family members sent inquiries to the prosecutor general and to the Ministry of Interior asking about her whereabouts but they were not provided with any information. Although she was arrested in Luxor, on October 4, she appeared in the Supreme National Security Court in Cairo and was interrogated for over 10 hours. Basma is facing charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news to disrupt public peace and security. Independent journalists in Egypt often face such charges for covering stories concerning state and military misconduct. Basma will spend 15 days in pre-trial detention pending the decision on those false claims.
Basma was priorly detained and interrogated twice; in April she was arrested for covering state precautionary measures for COVID-19 breakout and in 2016 she was arrested and interrogated for covering the murder of five Egyptian citizens in relation to Julio Regeini’s case. The report she made about those citizens uncovered serious breaches to law and exposed killings by police officers who hide the torture and murder of Italian Ph.D. student Julio Regieni. Besides her exceptional bylines in Mada Masr, Almanassa, Rassef, and many other media outlets, Basma is also a humanitarian entrepreneur who launched an initiative amid the Covid-19 breakout to prepare and deliver food for patients. The initiative spread throughout the whole country and thousands were supported.
Independent journalists in Egypt are crushed like grains in a millstone, they face arbitrary pre-trial detention on one end and enforced disappearance on the other. Basma is a journalist with the Al-Manassa news website whose chief editor, journalist Nora Younes was detained in June 2020 and faced similar charges. The Egyptian authorities are targeting independent journalism and considering it a crime. Hundreds of journalists are behind bars for indefinite times. Media outlets are censored and over 1000 websites are blocked.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is appalled by the detention of journalist Basma Mostafa and urges the Egyptian authorities to release her immediately. Journalism is a tool that helps both the public and authorities to keep everyone accountable. Journalists like Basma are essential for transparency and accountability in the state. The state should cherish and support them instead of targeting and detaining them.
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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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