Egypt: Military arrest Hossam Baghat in clear attack on journalistic freedom
| Publisher | Article 19 |
| Publication Date | 9 November 2015 |
| Cite as | Article 19, Egypt: Military arrest Hossam Baghat in clear attack on journalistic freedom, 9 November 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5642f7d74.html [accessed 19 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. |
Prominent investigative journalist, Hossam Bahgat, also founder of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, was summoned by intelligence services on the morning of 8 November, and was subsequently interrogated for 9 hours. By the evening, he had been referred to the military courts who ordered his detention for a further four days.
"It is never appropriate for the military to order the detention of civilians, and it is even more concerning when the individual concerned is a journalist who was investigating matters of public interest;" said Thomas Hughes, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19. "The military detention of a journalist is a manifest attack on the freedom of expression, and Baghat must be released immediately."
Bahgat's lawyers have stated that this investigation relates solely to his journalistic work, in particular a report published in October on Egyptian news website, Mada Masr, regarding the military.
He has reportedly been charged with deliberately spreading false information with the purpose of harming public order or public interest, and publishing, with malicious intent, false news that is likely to disturb public order. It is not known, however, where Bahgat is being detained, or the details of his upcoming trial; he was not allowed to enter the military intelligence headquarters with his phone, and his lawyer was not able to accompany him.
The detention forms part of the increasingly restrictive environment for expression in Egypt, with journalists at frontline, but with further victims from the wider media, the Human Rights community, and the Egyptian public.
