Charges being pressed against 20 Al Jazeera journalists
appear to be just the opening shot, with the government issuing warnings to
foreign reporters.
The crackdown on basic freedoms in Egypt has expanded to
the foreign press, with indications from the military-led government that the
vague allegations that have been used to jail opposition supporters and local
reporters will be relied on to muzzle foreign reporting.
Last week Egypt said it was moving forward with cases
against 20 Al Jazeera journalists on charges of abetting terrorism and
“spreading false news,” four foreigners among them.
The charges against the reporters prompted queries from
the foreign press in Cairo about the risks of being labelled criminals for
conducting interviews with the Muslim Brotherhood – recently outlawed as a
terrorist group – and otherwise carrying out normal reporting duties. The
response was not reassuring.
Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) sent an
explanatory note to the foreign press last week that claimed freedom of
expression is guaranteed in Egypt but the note is littered with caveats and
getout clauses.
It reads, “Egyptian law ensures (press) freedoms
completely and does not penalize for thought and opinion unless this thought
turns really to a materialistic behavior that the Egyptian Penal code forbids.
And this falls within the crimes that threaten the country’s national security
and its
Source: National Mirror
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