Egypt: Critic of power elected head of journalists' union

In this file photo taken on 4 May 2016, Khaled el-Balshy (C), then a member of the board of directors of the Egyptian Press Union and head of its Freedom Committee, protests with journalists in front of the headquarters of the Journalists' Syndicate in Cairo. AFP - MOHAMED EL-SHAHED

Text by: RFI Follow

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In Egypt, opposition leader Khaled el-Balshy was elected president of the journalists' union. This news was welcomed by the majority of journalists, but also by liberal circles in Egyptian society.

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With our correspondent in Cairo, Alexandre Buccianti

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A breath of hope " wrote Lina Attalah, director of Mada Masr, the news website blocked by the Egyptian authorities, as well as hundreds of others on the Internet.

انتخابات مهنية لها طعم خاص في عالم الانتخابات والتمثيل والفوز. يعني مافيش تمثيل مقنع في انتخابات عامة (نيابية ورئاسية مثلا) ودائما في حالة اضطرار في الاختيار. ولكن في وضوح اكتر في مين ممكن يمثلنا مهنيا ومافيش احسن من @khaledelbalshy لتمثيلنا اليوم. مبروك لنا وللجميع جرعة الامل. https://t.co/qjT3mnfRhE

— Lina Attalah #savesheikhjarrah (@Linaattalah) March 18, 2023

Khaled el-Balshy is, in fact, an avowed opponent of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. He was given a one-year suspended sentence in 2017 on charges of "responsibility for illegal protests in 2016".

This is the first time since President Sisi came to power in 2014 that the opposition has taken control of a trade union, and not the least. Khaled el-Balshy has pledged to make "freedoms" one of his priorities.

Dozens of journalists are imprisoned in Egypt for "publishing false information". A charge for which Khaled el-Balshy had been prosecuted, an accusation that many perceive as an attack on freedom of expression.

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Read on on the same topics:

• Egypt
• Freedom of the press
• Abdel Fattah al-Sisi