2015 prison census - Egypt: Abdelrahman Abdelsalam Yaqot
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 14 December 2015 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, 2015 prison census - Egypt: Abdelrahman Abdelsalam Yaqot, 14 December 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56701f9a11.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| 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. |
| Abdelrahman Abdelsalam Yaqot, Karmoz | |
|---|---|
| Medium: | Internet |
| Charge: | Anti-state, Retaliatory |
| Imprisoned: | March 21, 2015 |
Yaqot, a photographer for the independent news website Karmoz, was detained by two police officers in plainclothes outside the Fauzi Maath police station, in the coastal city of Alexandria, where he had gone after getting a tip about a bomb threat at the station, according to Karmoz.
When Yaqot toldthe officers that he was a photographer, they verbally harassed him, beat him, and confiscated his press card, mobile phone, camera, and bag, Karmoz reported. The website said Yaqot was taken to his house, where police searched his apartment without a warrant. The local press freedom group Journalists Against Torture Observatory reported that Yaqot's lawyer said police did not find any evidence against Yaqot in his apartment.
Yaqot is charged with possessing explosives, which authorities said he had in his bag, "attempting to burn down the Fauzi Maath police station," "participating in an illegal protest," and belonging to an "illegal group," the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Karmoz and Journalists Against Torture. The Muslim Brotherhood is banned in Egypt.
Yaqot's trial, scheduled to begin on September 12, was postponed to January 20, 2016, according to news reports.
The journalist's lawyer and Karmoz said that Yaqot was not involved with the Muslim Brotherhood and had no political affiliations, according to news reports. Karmoz said he was arrested while doing his job for the website. Yaqot's lawyer said he submitted documents to authorities that verified Yaqot's legal employment at Karmoz, according to Journalists Against Torture.
Yaqot was being held in the Dekheila police station in Alexandria in pretrial detention. He has written several letters from jail, published by Journalists Against Torture and local media websites. In the letters, he describes the use of beatings and electric torture by security forces to collectively punish the group of detainees with whom he is being held.
