Egypt: Jailed Journalist Alia Awad Sentenced 15 Years In Prison For Reporting Protests In Cairo
Location: Egypt, Cairo
Date: July 1, 2022
Photojournalist Alia Nasreddin Awad was sentenced to 15 years in prison after a mass trial in Cairo for filming protesters in 2015. The journalist has been in jail since 2017 and convicted on terrorism and vandalism charges. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) denounces the trial verdict and calls authorities for her immediate release. We reiterate that journalism is not a crime.
Egypt charged 215 supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood on June 28. An Egyptian court also sentenced 10 people to death and 56 others to life imprisonment in a mass trial against the group, known as the Helwan Brigades. The Egyptian chief prosecutor accused the group of killing six policemen and committing violent acts in the country. The events took place in Cairo between 2013 to 2015, which were linked to the mass trial. Egypt carried out one of the biggest crackdowns on the Muslim Brotherhood after the military coup against Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, the country's first freely elected president, in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.
Alia Awad was among those 215 defendants who were charged at the mass trial. The journalist was convicted of terrorism and vandalism charges for filming the protesters at the events.
According to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF), The journalist was first arrested in October 2014 for filming the violently suppressed rallies in Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square (east of Cairo), organized protest against President Mohamed Morsi’s ouster in a military coup between 2013 and 2015. Alia was released on health issues in 2016, however, she was arrested again in the same case in October 2017.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the conviction of Alia Awad and calls on the Egyptian authorities to release the journalist immediately. We strongly condemn the state-backed persecution of journalists and call for all legal charges against them to be dropped. For any country to flourish, the state must allow space for dissenting voices and uphold press freedom and free speech in the country.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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