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Censorship and dawn raids in Egypt as authorities tighten net

June 25, 2019 at 3:39 pm

Leading Egyptian intellectual Fahmi Howaidi has told Rai Al-Youm that he has been forbidden from writing amid tight censorship of the press in Egypt.

Howeidi has described what is happening as a “major scandal.”

Since President Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi assumed power in 2014, he has tightened his grip on an already compliant press.

Authorities have suggested mandatory training for journalists at a military academy and passed a terror law under which journalists can be imprisoned if they write articles contrary to government statements.

READ: Russia praises Egypt ‘stability’ as Moscow and Cairo deepen ties

Over 500 websites have been blocked on the grounds that they are a threat to national security.

In a wave of arrests at dawn this morning Egyptian security forces arrested journalist and members of the journalists’ union Hisham Fouad at his home.

MP for the  Egyptian Social and Democratic Party Ziad Al-Alimi, and a number of other politicians and activists, were also swept up in the crackdown ahead of the anniversary of the 30 June protests which preceded the coup against former President Mohamed Morsi.