The Freedoms Committee of the Journalists' Syndicate organized a protest Wednesday evening at the syndicate's entrance to demand the release of detained journalists and ask that they be provided with medical care.
Head of the Freedoms Committee Khaled al-Balshy and a number of activists and journalists participated in the protest.
Participants wore white clothes that read: "Journalism is not a crime" and raised banners with the names of detained journalists.
The Journalists' Syndicate's Freedoms Committee has launched a campaign to demand the release of detained journalists and to improve the conditions of detainees in prisons.
The campaign is dubbed "We will treat them, we will get them out. Journalism is not a crime", referring to the deteriorating health conditions of a number of detained journalists.
The Freedoms Committee decided at its meeting last Thursday, which included a large number of journalists and the families of prisoners and detainees, to use all legal means possible to press for the release of detained journalists, and to organize protests and marches to the top prosecutor's office and the parliament.
The committee has also decided to file claims to the top prosecutor about the deteriorating conditions in prisons which threatens the life of ill journalists.
Over 32 journalists are currently being detained, including 18 journalists detained over press charges. Some of them were arrested while on duty and the authorities fabricated charges against them, according to the committee.
The committee condemned the escalation of detaining journalists over publishing charges.
Three events have been organized by the committee for next week, including filing claims with the top prosecutor's office on Saturday, holding a press conference to officially announce the campaign on Monday and a protest at the Journalists' Syndicate on Wednesday followed by another press conference to discuss the health conditions of detained journalists.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
