Growing numbers of journalists are expressing concern about their ability to cover Egypt’s parliamentary elections on Sunday due to increasingly stringent restrictions on media and the possibility of elections-related violence.
While government authorities have insisted that 28 November elections would be “free and transparent,” many reporters remain skeptical. This has been evidenced by ongoing demonstrations against the harassment of media personnel and the confiscation of cameras and recording devices, along with new restrictions imposed on media coverage.
The skepticism can also been attributed to the fact that Egypt’s emergency law, which has been in place for 30 years, was extended for another two years in May, while judicial oversight of elections has been largely dismissed. Moreover, a number of television talk show hosts have recently been sacked; over 20 satellite channels have been shut down; and new restrictions and fees have been imposed on SMS service providers. This in addition to the sacking in August of Ibrahim Eissa, a renowned critic of the ruling regime and former editor-in-chief of independent daily Al-Dostour.
On Monday, around 200 journalists and activists staged a protest at the Egyptian Press Syndicate in downtown Cairo, where they called for the release of reporter Youssef Shaaban, who was recently arrested in Alexandria on drug charges. Shaaban was arrested on 19 November while covering a popular demonstration. The Commission to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for Shaaban's immediate release.
Photo-journalists have also called for yet another demonstration against censorship and police brutality, in which they plan to demand guarantees of their safety while covering the upcoming elections. This protest is scheduled for Saturday, November 27–only one day ahead of the races.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Information could not be reached for comment on the issue. As for the government-appointed High Elections Commission (HEC), it recently announced that only registered members of the press syndicate would be allowed to photograph polling stations. Furthermore, these syndicate members are required to obtain permits from the Ministry of Information in order to cover the balloting.
Mohamed Abdel Quddous, head of the syndicate’s Liberties Committee, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the syndicate was not opposed to the guidelines set by the HEC. "But journalists who are not members of the syndicate, foreign correspondents or wire agencies should be given access to permits so that they may cover the elections," he said.
Abdel Quddous added: "What we are opposed to is thuggery, electoral fraud, vote-rigging, ballot-buying, censorship, and the harassment of journalists." He went on to predict that Sunday’s elections would constitute "the foulest parliamentary elections in our nation’s history."
On Sunday night, journalists reported several incidents of harassment in the Cairo electoral district of Shubra al-Kheima. Police officers detained four journalists, including Egyptians and foreigners, on the premise that they were not authorized to cover elections or electoral campaigns without work permits. Another foreign journalist reported that supporters of a ruling party candidate had taken him aside for questioning while another one lifted his camera.
Mounting skepticism regarding electoral transparency is partially based on the violence witnessed during the last parliamentary elections in 2005, when a number of media personnel were harassed (and in some cases seriously injured) by police forces and hired thugs while others had cameras confiscated or destroyed. Amr Nabil, vice president of the Egyptian Photojournalists' Society, was one such victim. He was shot in the eye while covering disputed elections in the Nile Delta governorate of Sharqiya.
"I’ve covered numerous armed conflicts and war zones in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq and Darfur, but I was not injured there,” Nabil told Al-Masry Al-Youm. “Remarkably, I was injured and permanently debilitated in my own country, while covering elections." Nabil said that hired thugs had wrought havoc outside the polling station, while police forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse perceived “trouble makers.”
Although he had kept at a safe distance from the violence, "a rubber bullet, or perhaps a shotgun pellet, shattered my eyeglasses and penetrated my right eye," he recalled. Despite having undergone 12 surgeries, including retina-detachment and cornea-transplant operations, Nabil lost some 80 percent of his vision in his stricken eye. Shortly after his injury, however, Nabil successfully filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Interior in which he was granted compensation amounting to LE30,000 (roughly US$5,450). "The compensation covered only a small fraction of my medical expenses,” he said.
The news agency at which Nabil is employed has covered the vast majority of his hospital bills and overseas travel expenses. He said that an appeals court would issue its verdict on Monday, November 29–one day after elections–in his case against the Interior Ministry. "I'm not going to be covering the elections this year, or any other elections for that matter,” he said. “Not even the elections at my sporting club."
Another journalist, who also sustained serious injuries while covering 2005 parliamentary elections, was more reluctant to discuss his debilitating encounter with security forces. Fearful of retaliation by police and/or hired thugs, the anonymous journalist declined to say whether or not he would be covering Sunday’s elections.
Meanwhile, prominent journalist/talk show host Wael al-Ebrashy, editor-in-chief of independent weekly Sawt al-Ummah, has called on journalists to protest the lack of security guarantees by refusing to cover elections. On the other hand, Khaled Salah, editor-in-chief of independent weekly Youm al-Sabea, has called on journalists to redouble their efforts to cover elections in order to monitor and expose violations.
A number of international media watchdogs have criticized Egyptian authorities for what they describe as a “hostile environment” for journalists in the run-up to elections. The CPJ, for example, has reported that press freedom was “deteriorating in pre-election Egypt." Reporters Sans Frontières, meanwhile, claims that authorities have launched a "government offensive against freedom of expression in television broadcasting." The International Freedom of Expression eXchange, for its part, has denounced the "intimidation of media ahead of elections."
