Egypt has slipped one place in the press freedom index (http://rsf.org/index2014/en-index2014.php) due to increasing harrassment against journalists since the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in 3 July 2013.
According to the annual press freedom index produced by the international watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Egypt occupies 159th place among the total of 180 countries.
The 2014 World Press Freedom Index spotlights the negative impact of conflicts on freedom of information and its protagonists.
"After President Morsi's ousting by the army led by al-Sisi, there has been a witch-hunt against journalists alleged to have offered support to the Muslim Brotherhood," the report said.
The report added that the ensuing persecution of the Muslim Brotherhood affected not only Egyptian journalists but also their Turkish, Palestinian and Syrian colleagues.
Even journalists who have done nothing more than report on the Brotherhood have ended up in jail, most often without charge, or on trumped-up charges of "spreading false news," the report explained.
