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Egypt's press syndicate says "thugs" are hired to attack its members

April 21, 2016 at 11:58 am

Egypt’s press syndicate denounced on Wednesday recent “repeated” attacks against its members while they carried out their journalistic work and called on the interior ministry to investigate the issue.

The syndicate said that attacks on journalists are carried out by “thugs” who are “protected” by security bodies in the state.

The word “thugs” is used in Egypt to describe those who violate the law. Human rights organisations have repeatedly alleged that security forces use “thugs” to disperse protests and arrest suspects. But the interior ministry denies such accusations.

The press syndicate, one of Egypt’s oldest professional syndicates, said on Wednesday in a statement that “thugs, protected by the security [apparatuses] assaulted journalists and photojournalists” outside a court building in the Cairo neighbourhood of Zeinhom on Tuesday as they covered judicial proceedings regarding 25 protesters who were arrested on Friday during the “Friday of Land” protests.

The “Friday of Land” protests were staged by activists in protest against the Egyptian government’s decision to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

The press syndicate says in its statement that “thugs” also chased away family members who gathered outside the court in solidarity with the detained protesters.

This attack “is not the first of its kind in recent times”, the press syndicate added in its statement.