Egypt / Middle East & North Africa

In a joint statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 18 human rights and press freedom organizations called on Egyptian authorities to immediately release the father of exiled Egyptian podcast host Seif al-Islam Eid, who was arrested on October 22, 2025, and to cease targeting the family members of exiled journalists and human rights defenders….

Washington, D.C., October 9, 2025 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is appalled by the five-year prison sentence handed down to Egyptian economic commentator Abdel Khaleq Farouk, convicted of joining a terrorist organization, spreading false information, and misusing social media over articles critical of Egypt’s economic policies. Lawyer Nabih Al-Janadi, a member of Farouk’s defense…

Washington, D.C., September 26, 2025 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is calling on Egyptian authorities to immediately release journalist Ismail Alexandrani, who has already spent years imprisoned for his reporting. Alexandrani was arrested on September 24 at a checkpoint in Matrouh Governorate, northwestern Egypt, and later charged with joining a terrorist group, spreading false…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 22 other international and Egyptian rights organizations in urging United Nations member states not to vote for Egypt in October’s elections to the U.N. Human Rights Council. The letter highlights Egypt’s alarming human rights record, noting that the country regularly ranks among the world’s top 10 jailers of journalists,…

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 22 other organizations in a joint letter calling for Al-Manassa cartoonist Ashraf Omar’s release a year after he was arrested July 22, 2024, and later accused of joining a terrorist group with knowledge of its purposes, spreading false news, and misusing social media. The statement also urged Egyptian authorities to…

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 22, 2025—A  media company linked to Egyptian authorities suspended three prominent television programs after their hosts criticized the government and road safety failures, raising concerns about media control by state-aligned entities, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On July 16, United Media Services (UMS), a company owned and closely linked to Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, terminated its contract with…

In a joint statement, led by the Committee to Protect Journalists, 25 press freedom and human rights organizations called on the Egyptian government to end its transnational repression campaign against exiled journalists, including investigative reporter Basma Mostafa, who currently lives in Germany. The statement also urged German authorities to ensure her safety and uphold international…

Washington, D.C., May 29, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Egyptian authorities to end the prosecution of journalist Rasha Qandeel, who was summoned May 25, interrogated, and charged with “spreading and broadcasting false news inside and outside the country” after her reports on Egypt’s social, political, and economic developments for the independent platform Sotour. The Supreme State…

New York, May 22, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by multiple reports of “unreasonable” tax audits targeting at least six Hong Kong independent media outlets and around 20 journalists and their families, and calls on the Hong Kong government to end its weaponization of financial and tax measures against the press. The Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP),…

In a joint letter, the Committee to Protect Journalists and 31 other press freedom and human rights organizations urged UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to intensify his diplomatic efforts to secure Egyptian-British writer Alaa Abdelfattah’s release. The letter follows a February call between Starmer and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, which has yet to yield…