Journalists Syndicate chief calls for strike after Cairo University shootings

Journalists Syndicate head Diaa Rashwan called on media outlets to permanently halt field reporting after two journalists were shot by police forces at Cairo University on Monday, reported the state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA).

He also called for a protest on Thursday in front of the Journalists Syndicate to condemn the repeated attacks on journalists.

Khaled Hussein, a photographer for the privately owned newspaper Youm7, was reportedly shot in the chest with live ammunition while covering Monday’s clashes between protesting students and police forces at Cairo University. Amr al-Sayed, a photographer for the privately owned news site Sada al-Balad, was allegedly injured by birdshot in the same incident.

The shootings are the latest in a string of sometimes fatal assaults on field reporters in the line of duty.

In late March, Mayada Ashraf, a journalist for the privately owned Al-Dostour news site, was shot dead by police forces while covering clashes between pro-Muslim Brotherhood protesters and security forces in the eastern Cairo neighborhood of Ain Shams.

Eyewitnesses testified that police forces shot Ashraf twice in the head while she was standing on the side of Brotherhood protesters.

The police denied the charges and claimed the Brotherhood was responsible for the journalist’s death.

At least six journalists have been killed while reporting on the ongoing political turmoil that has swept the country since former President Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power in July, and the state launched a harsh crackdown on Islamist groups.

The International Committee to Protect Journalists issued a report saying the freedom and safety of journalists in Egypt dramatically deteriorated in 2013.

Rashwan called on the chief editors of newspapers and television stations to join the strike, adding that two newspapers had already confirmed their support after Ashraf’s death.

But the syndicate chief also laid some of the blame for the recent violence on the editors themselves, due to their reluctance to provide the Journalists Syndicate with a list of their field reporters so that the organization could give them proper security training and provide them with security tools.

Rashwan also reiterated his request for 200 bulletproof vests, 300 bulletproof helmets, 300 gas masks and 300 anti-pellet glasses from the Ministry of Defense to disperse to Egypt’s journalists for their protection.

But despite his calls for action, reporters have harshly criticized Rashwan for a perceived reluctance to defend their rights, even as security forces persistently target media personnel, they claim.

Journalists Syndicate board member Abeer al-Saady recently froze her membership in protest against Rashwan’s alleged ineffectiveness, as well as against the syndicate board’s failure to take action against systematic violations committed against journalists.

The board then referred Saady to investigations.

The Egyptian Initiative to Defend Journalists also condemned Monday’s attacks on the two journalists at Cairo University, stating that this was another example of a long series of abuses committed against journalists since the outbreak of the January 25, 2011 revolution.

The initiative’s coordinator, journalist Hazem al-Mallah, said in a statement that an attack on journalists, whether perpetrated by security forces or any other entity, was a direct attack on the freedom of speech and a restriction on the people’s right to know the truth.

Mallah called for strict regulations to protect the rights of journalists and the freedom of the media.

The Committee to Defend Freedom of the Press expressed a similar sentiment, issuing a statement on Monday rebuking the Journalists Syndicate board for its feeble statements meant for “media use only,” which never translate into actual action to protect journalists and media freedoms.