The stand coincides with the 4th anniversary of the arrest of colleague Bahaa El-Din Ibrahim (Al-Jazeera)
Al Jazeera Media Network condemned, in a statement, the Egyptian authorities’ continued detention of colleagues Bahaa El-Din Ibrahim and Rabie Al-Sheikh, and called on bodies concerned with freedom of the press and human rights organizations to stand in solidarity with the two colleagues Bahaa and Rabie and demand their release.
Today, Thursday, the network organized a solidarity stand with our colleagues Bahaa El-Din Ibrahim and Rabie Al-Sheikh, who are detained in Egyptian prisons, to demand their release.
The stand coincides with the 4th anniversary of the arrest of colleague Bahaa El-Din Ibrahim, since his arrest on February 22, 2020, exceeding the legal period of pretrial detention.
The Egyptian authorities charged Bahaa with “joining a group established in violation of the law and spreading false news.”
Since then, the courts have renewed his detention pending investigations, which constitutes a violation of his personal freedom and violates what is stipulated in the Egyptian Constitution.
The pause included the showing of a video clip of Bahaa El-Din Ibrahim, narrating, through artificial intelligence techniques, the tragedy of his continued imprisonment despite exceeding the legal period of pretrial detention, and about his children who have grown up and years of their lives have passed while they are deprived of it.
The pause also included showing a video clip of colleague Rabie Al-Sheikh, asking, via artificial intelligence technology, about the years of his life that were wasted behind bars, and about his longing to meet his family.
At the stand, which was attended by a group of fellow journalists, Sami Al-Hajj, director of the Al Jazeera Center for Public Liberties and Human Rights, pledged to follow up on the case of the two colleagues before international legal and judicial forums concerned with freedom of the press.
He said that Al Jazeera Network's efforts to release the two colleagues have not stopped since the moment of their arrest and will not stop.
Ayman Jaballah, director of Al Jazeera Mubasher, announced the launch of an initiative for the two colleagues to participate in covering current events despite their presence behind bars, through artificial intelligence technology, saying, “Imprisoning their bodies will not imprison their thoughts.”
In his speech, Jaballah sent a message to the Egyptian authorities, and said that the arrest of Rabie and Bahaa is a gain without gain, wondering “what benefit can be gained by an authority that is stigmatized by intimidating journalists like Bahaa and Rabie, who know far and wide that they have no affiliation other than freedom of the press.”
He added, "How much the authorities, especially these days, need to release them in order to distance themselves from those who kill and abuse the messengers of truth and those who carry the banner of freedom. How much the authorities need the messages of praise that will entail the decision to release them."
Source: Al Jazeera