Assaults against journalists on the rise, warns report

Twenty-one cases of assault against journalists were reported in July, according to a statement issued on Monday by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression.

The pattern of assaults against journalists has not changed since former President Mohamed Morsi’s ouster, and in fact has maintained the same level of intensity as during the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule and the military’s time in power, the association warned.

The report counted 21 violations against journalists from June 26 to July 27 — the period of protests that led to Morsi’s removal and the ensuing unrest.  

The number is significant, considering that only 53 such cases were reported over the previous four months, the association said.

Assaults against journalists during the waves of violence that have swept over Egypt since January 2011 have become systematic, intended to impose a media blackout on the events, the statement alleged. In the past month, these attacks were perpetuated by security forces and pro-Morsi protesters, the association claimed.

Last month, Ahmed Assem — a video journalist for the Freedom and Justice newspaper — caught his own death on camera when a sniper that he was filming suddenly turned his rifle on the journalist. The incident occurred in the course of clashes outside the Republican Guards headquarters between security forces and pro-Morsi protesters.