A member of Reporters Without Borders (photo illustration) -

Louise MERESSE / SIPA

Reporters Without Borders and a local NGO are sounding the alarm.

According to them, two Egyptian journalists were remanded in custody after missing for several days in January.

"There is no certain information about their current place of detention but they are likely to be in the Tora high security prison, where many prisoners of conscience are held," Gamal Eid said, the president of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information.

Two disappearances in the space of a few days

Appeared this week before the High Court of State Security in Cairo, photographer Hamdi al-Zaim and editor Ahmed Khalifa were remanded in custody for 15 days for "spreading false news" and "belonging to a terrorist group. », Specifies the organization.

On January 5 and 6, they were abducted from their respective homes by the security forces.

"These two enforced disappearances in the space of a few days show how journalists are treated in violation of international law," added Sabrina Bennoui, head of the Middle East office at RSF.

Having presented symptoms of Covid-19 disease in recent weeks, Hamdi al-Zaim, since tested negative, had been placed in isolation at the hospital in the Abassiya district where his diabetes had worsened.

Already imprisoned in 2016 for similar charges, the photographer was released in June 2018. Since that date, he was under judicial supervision.

Thirty journalists imprisoned in Egypt

In charge of social affairs for the Masr360 news site, Ahmed Khalifa had recently written articles on workers' mobilizations, including those protesting against the liquidation of the Delta state-owned company for fertilizers and chemicals, in the governorate of Daqahliya, north-east of Cairo.

Since the arrival at the head of state of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in 2013, the repression has extended to all forms of dissent, Islamist or liberal, further eroding freedoms in the most populous country in the Arab world .

According to RSF, 30 journalists are imprisoned in Egypt.

The country occupies 166th place out of 180 countries, in the 2020 Press Freedom Ranking established by the NGO.

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  • Freedom of press

  • RSF

  • Egypt

  • Media