Photojournalist Ahmed Ramadan released after arrest for alleged Brotherhood ties

Photojournalist Ahmed Ramadan was released on bail Monday evening after being detained for nearly 24 hours on accusations that he belongs to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Ramadan, who works for the privately owned Al-Tahrir news outlet, had been assigned to cover Sunday’s hearing in the "espionage" case against toppled President Mohamed Morsi. He was arrested at the courthouse as he attempted to take photos.

According to one of his lawyers, Doaa Mostafa, Ramadan was held overnight at the local branch of the National Security Agency, then transferred to prosecution for questioning in the east Cairo suburb of Tagammu al-Khames (The Fifth Settlement) on Monday morning. Mostafa, a representative from Al-Tahrir, Journalists Syndicate representative Khaled al-Bashy and several of Ramadan’s co-workers were all present as prosecutors questioned him, the lawyer told Mada.

He was released later Monday on LE5,000 bail, with criminal investigations into his alleged Brotherhood affiliations ongoing. In an interview with Al-Tahrir published Sunday, Journalists Syndicate President Yehia Qallash said that their photojournalist division asked for Ramadan to be released on bail on the syndicate’s recognizance.

The Brotherhood was declared a banned terrorist organization in December 2013. 

Mostafa said she was initially only informed that Ramadan was accused of falsely impersonating a journalist, and only later learned that the official charge was “affiliation with an outlawed organization.”

The lawyer, who is also a member of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, told Mada Masr a former colleague had filed the charges.

Ramadan previously worked for the privately owned news site Youm7 before losing his job due to allegations that he harbored sympathies for the Brotherhood, Mostafa said. Amany al-Akhrass, a Youm7 videographer, verbally reported Ramadan’s alleged ties to the group to the police, thus prompting his arrest, according to Mostafa.

While Akhrass is not yet a recognized, dues-paying member of the Journalists Syndicate, her claims against a fellow photojournalist have landed her in hot water.

Several Journalists Syndicate members have reportedly organized a campaign to deny Akhrass membership. On Monday, a notice was posted on the entrance to the syndicate’s downtown Cairo headquarters that read, "Amany al-Akhrass is banned from entering this building as of today's date."
 
According to Balshy, also on Monday a letter was sent to Youm7 editor-in-chief Khaled Salah requesting that he question Akhrass in a disciplinary board hearing, and then report back to the syndicate on the results.

A report released in June by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) showed that at least 18 journalists were incarcerated in Egyptian jails — the highest number of media professionals to be detained since the organization started tracking arrests in the country in 1990.