A campaign advocating press freedom has denounced the arrest of a Journalists Syndicate official on Saturday, dismissing the incident as a fresh violation of the freedom of expression and press freedom.
The Committee to Defend Press Independence said Essam Moselhy, a member of the syndicate’s general assembly, was unjustifiably arrested on Saturday without prior notice to the syndicate. It said the incident was a legal violation which it had previously warned state bodies against.
Bashir al-Adl, the committee’s rapporteur, said the arrest of journalists without notifying the syndicate is a clear violation of the law.
Press freedom advocates have decried what they view as a crackdown on free journalism under the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Several international reports have shown Egypt's decline in rankings related to press freedom over the past few years.
Egypt ranked sixth place among the 10 worst jailers of journalists in 2014, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
