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July 23, 2024 – Egypt –
Within just one week in July 2024, Egyptian security forces arrested two media professionals at midnight and disappeared them without a trace, marking a disturbing intensification of repression against independent journalists.
On 16 July, journalist Khaled Mamdouh Ibrahim of Arabic Post was hauled from his home in Cairo’s Mokattam district. Authorities confiscated his laptop and phone, then held him incommunicado for five days before officially bringing him before the Supreme State Security Prosecution. He’s now held for 15 days under charges of “spreading false news” and “joining a terrorist group”.
Only days later, on 22 July, satirical cartoonist Ashraf Omar—known for his work with independent outlet Al‑Manassa—was similarly seized in Cairo’s Hadayek October. His home was searched, electronic devices seized, he was blindfolded, and forcibly disappeared. After two days of secret detention and a seven-hour interrogation without legal counsel, Omar was charged with “joining a terrorist organisation,” “misuse of social media,” and “spreading false news,” then ordered held for 15 days.
These arrests have drawn fierce condemnation from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), its affiliate Egyptian Journalists Syndicate (EJS), and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). They decried the enforcement of anti-terror and disinformation laws against journalists as part of a broader campaign aimed at crushing dissent and silencing press voices.
The EJS has formally demanded that authorities reveal the detainees’ locations, end abuses, and immediately release both men, along with the over 23 other journalists currently held without trial. IFJ Deputy General Secretary Tim Dawson called the detentions a deliberate attempt to “silence the media and stop them from reporting the truth”.
These enforced disappearances reflect a systematic pattern in Egypt under President Sisi: using anti-terror and “fake news” legislation to justify arbitrary arrests, prolonged pretrial detentions, and incommunicado custody of journalists, violating national and international legal norms. Egypt remains one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, with numerous media workers facing similar tactics—arrests, disappearances, and criminal prosecution.
IFJ and CPJ insist the Egyptian government must halt these rights violations, publish detention details, guarantee due process, and free journalists currently behind bars. Without decisive reforms, the crackdown on Egypt’s press will continue unchecked, further eroding democratic space in the country.
Reference –
Egypt: Two journalists arrested and forcibly disappeared within a week – IFJ
