The Journalists' Syndicate’s board, headed by Yehia Qallash, convened with editors-in-chief of several newspapers on Monday to confirm their refusal toward the ongoing attack against the freedom of journalism, which was clear after official authorities filed reports against journalists over publishing issues.
The attendees called on President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to declare his stance on the crackdown on journalists, which violates the law and the Constitution. They also urged a meeting with Sisi.
During the meeting, journalists were urged not to pay bail, since they were illegally arrested for publishing news. Journalists should also take care not to attend interrogations without notifying the syndicate so that a representative can be present with them, as it is a guarantee granted by law.
Frequent reports against journalists by the state authorities, with the Interior Ministry being the most active critic, shows that journalism and its freedom are targeted.
The participants at the meeting also called on the prosecution to abstain from the campaign against the freedom of journalism, as they are ignoring the guarantee granted by law to notify the syndicate of arrest warrants issued against journalists for publishing news.
The attendees added that the prosecution has recently been levelling accusations of ‘impersonating a journalist’ against trainees, or ‘hiring a person who impersonates the character of a journalist’ against editors-in-chief without informing the syndicate, which also violates the laws of the syndicate and journalism.
A permanent session has been in put in place to follow up on developments and take escalatory measures in accordance with any upcoming circumstances.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
