Egypt second worst jailer of journalists

Egypt ranked second in a list of countries which imprisoned journalists in 2015, a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists revealed yesterday.

According to a statement posted on the group’s website, there are 199 imprisoned journalists worldwide who have been jailed because of their work in 2015 only, compared to 221 journalists last year. China topped the list this year.

The New York based organisation said Egypt witnessed a deterioration in the freedom of the media, which came clear as the country ranked second worldwide in terms of the number of imprisoned journalists. The statement also pointed out that Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi attributes this number to the protection of national security, where Egyptian authorities held 23 journalists this year, compared to 12 last year.

The statement explained that in 2012, during the rule of the ousted President Mohamed Morsi, there were no imprisoned journalists in Egypt.

According to its statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists recognises journalists as people who cover the news or comment on public affairs in the media, including publications, photographs, radio, television and the internet.

There are no official figures on the number of imprisoned journalists in Egypt, but human rights organisations say that they number in the dozens, in addition to the number of dead and wounded journalists.