Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abdullah Shousha
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 31 December 2017 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abdullah Shousha, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c948011.html [accessed 2 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Amgad TV | Imprisoned in Egypt | September 22, 2013
| Job: | Broadcast Reporter, Camera Operator, Photographer |
| Medium: | Internet, Television |
| Beats Covered: | Politics |
| Gender: | Male |
| Local or Foreign: | Local |
| Freelance: | Yes |
| Charge: | Anti-state, Retaliatory |
| Length of Sentence: | 1 year to <5 years |
| Reported Health Problems: | No |
Abdullah Shousha was arrested on September 22, 2013, while covering protests in Ismailiya, according to news reports and local press freedom organizations. Shousha is a correspondent and cameraman for Amgad TV, a privately owned Islamist channel. He also provided photos and footage to the opposition news outlet, Rassd, according to his Facebook page.
A month before his arrest, Shousha filmed an unarmed protester being shot by Egyptian armed forces in Ismailiya. The footage was aired by numerous television channels and by late 2017, had been viewed over 620,000 times on Shousha's YouTube page.
Prosecutors charged Shousha with "incitement to violence," "participating in an illegal protest," and "incitement against the ruling government" and ordered him held in pre-trial detention, according to local press freedom groups. On April 17, 2016, a criminal court found the journalist guilty of all charges and sentenced him to two years in prison. The court also convicted him of raising what is known as the "Raba'a Sign," a four-finger salute meant to commemorate the deaths of hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters during the violent dispersal of a sit-in at Raba'a al-Adawiya square in August 2013. Authorities banned the symbol in late 2013.
Shousha's defense was preparing to appeal the sentence in late 2017, according to reports.
Shousha is facing a separate trial, known as the "Cell Cluster," in which he and 88 other defendants are accused of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, setting fire to vehicles belonging to members of the police force and the judiciary in Ismailiya and belonging to armed groups. Shousha was covering the unrest for Amgad TV, according to Journalists Against Torture Observatory. The trial was ongoing in late 2017, his sister told CPJ.
The journalist is being held in Port Said prison, in a small cell that he shares with seven other people, his sister, Rahma Shousha, told CPJ.
The journalist, who was 23 at the time of his arrest, is pursuing a bachelor's degree in sociology at the University of Suez from prison, his sister told CPJ.
Shousha was not included in CPJ's 2013, 2014, or 2015 prison censuses because CPJ was not aware of his case.
