Rights groups condemn arrest of Alexandria journalist

Several rights organizations condemned the arrest of Alexandria-based journalist Mahmoud Nassr, who was detained while filming old buildings in Ismailia Governorate on Wednesday.

Nassr, who works for privately owned newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm, was filming buildings for a story, when he was arrested on suspicion of filming in a military zone.

When he was transferred to the police station, Nassr's background check revealed that he was sentenced in absentia to 10 years for taking part in a protest in early January 2013.

Nassr protested inside Cairo train station on January 15, 2013 after a train incident in Badrasheen, Giza claimed the lives of several soldiers traveling ahead of holiday leave. Nassr and others were demanding the state be held both accountable and responsible for the accident.

During the 2013 protest, clashes broke out with security forces and Nassr was briefly detained before being released.

The Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemned Nassr’s arrest, claiming it was representative of ongoing practices by the Egyptian state that target journalists.

“Arresting Nassr while doing his work is a flagrant violation of his right to practice his journalistic work, while the sentence he received for peaceful assembly is a violation of free speech and peaceful assembly. It has been a systematic practice by Egyptian authorities in targeting journalists,” ANHRI said in a statement Monday.

Nassr’s friend, Mohamed Radwan, told the Journalists Against Torture Observatory that Nassr is expected to be referred to Alexandria Security Directorate soon to serve his prison sentence, as he is still being detained in Ismailia.

Journalists have faced an ongoing crackdown since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, with at least 13 journalists killed, allegedly by police forces, whilst reporting in the field. Some reporters have received long prison sentences, while others are still being detained pending investigations.

Egypt ranks among the worst states for imprisoning journalists around the world, coming ninth this year in a list topped by Turkey, Iran and China, according to a study released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in December.

On Saturday, two journalists were referred to criminal court by General Prosecutor Hesham Barakat on charges of spying for Qatar, alongside former President Morsi and other defendants.

Asmaa al-Khatib, a journalist working for the pro-Muslim Brotherhood Rassd News Network (RNN) and Ibrahim Mohamed Hilal, head of news at Qatari-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera, are both accused of leaking documents related to national security to Qatar.

The two journalists have not been arrested, although the prosecution has issued arrest warrants for both of them.

Journalists Against Torture meanwhile reported that this week a complaint was filed against ONtv talk show hosts Yousry Fouda and Gaber al-Qarmouty, accusing them of attempting to overthrow the regime.

The complaint, filed Monday by a citizen named as Mahmoud Abou al-Liel, said that Fouda is indirectly working for Al Jazeera by hosting guests who are “against the state,” in order to oppose President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Liel also accused Qarmouty of “inciting against the Egyptian state” after he heavily criticized the government for the ongoing power outage problem. The complaint alleged that Qarmouty has refused to report on terror attacks targeting the Egyptian state.