Egyptian newspaper offices raided in latest police crackdown

Egyptian security forces stormed the offices of two independent newspapers and briefly arrested the chairman of one of the newspapers, Mostafa Sakr.

Mostafa Sakr, chairman of Business News Egypt on June 2011 [Mostafa Sakr/Twitter]

Plain clothes policemen claiming they were from the copyright authority stormed the offices and confiscated a dozen computers. They seized the desktop computers under the pretext of an investigation into whether pirated computer software was being used.

Sakr was later released, but has been targeted by the authorities due to alleged links to the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood which earned him a place on the authorities’ terror list.

The businessman has denied belonging to any political or religious groups.

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The raid is part of a long line of media and journalist crackdowns with human rights groups accusing Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of widespread violations that include rolling back press freedoms gained after 2011.