Egypt Watch

Egypt is the Arab and African nation that detains journalists the most, says CPJ

On Wednesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Egypt still detains journalists the most in Africa and the Arab world. The CPJ’s rating does not take into account disappeared or abducted journalists. It defines journalists as people who cover news or comment on public affairs in the media. In the last three years, Egypt ranked third in the world, after China and Myanmar, respectively, in the number of detained journalists, despite the decline from 34 in 2020 to 25 in 2021.

The report of the CPJ, an independent American institution concerned with protecting press freedom and defending the rights of journalists, said that Egypt had released political prisoners, including journalists, under pressure from the United States and the European Union. However, according to the CPJ, the country detained other journalists.

Reporters Without Borders had issued a report accusing the Egyptian authorities of undermining the freedom of the press by censoring newspapers, buying major media outlets, and launching media campaigns against dissidents. Twitter also classified local newspapers such as Al-Watan and Al-Youm Al-Sabea as state media outlets due to the government’s control over them. The Egyptian government denies that journalists are in prison for their opinions.