Egypt: Nora Younis Released, CFWIJ Welcomes But Concerned About Deteriorating Press Freedom Status Being

Location: Egypt, Cairo
Date: June 26, 2020

Available in: 🇸🇦  عربي

Nora Younis, the chief editor of news outlet Al-Mansa, was arrested and taken into custody on June 25. She was then interrogated for many hours and taken to Maadi secondary court. We followed the ordeal, spoke to Nora’s lawyer and reported on the entire incident. You can read here.

Nora was released 26 hours in custody following a 10.000 L.E (approx. 620 USD) bail.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the release of Nora Younis and urges the Egyptian authorities to lift restrictions on independent media and prevent further threats to freedom of press in Egypt. 

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Earlier on June 25th, Younis was interrogated by Maadi General prosecutor regarding the following charges; creating an account on the internet to facilitate and commit legally prohibited crimes, obtaining designing and programming software without a permit from National entity for communication, violating copyrights law and running a news website without a license.

According to her lawyer, the interrogation went smoothly but it was clear that the prosecutor himself is not convinced by the charges that he was questioning her about. Lawyers follow-up questions on what type of crimes and charges Younis is facing has been dismissed. Younis was interrogated and kept under custody for several hours.

Younis was arrested on June 24th by a police force that claimed to be from artistic products police departments and has been escorted to Maadi police station where she was kept in custody until interrogation.

Younis is the Chief editor of Al-mansa news outlet and is one of the prominent bloggers and journalists in Egypt. She worked for the Washington Post and leading independent Newspaper in Egypt Al-Masry Al-Youm. She is also known for her iconic documentation for the 25th of January, 2011 revolution in Egypt.

CFWIJ is monitoring the status of freedom of expression in Egypt and documenting the intimidations and threats that women journalists are encountering like Israa Abdel-Fattah, Basma Mostafa, and Solafa Magdy. We have highlighted in our annual report the deterioration of freedom of press in Egypt.

CFWIJ founder Kiran Nazish stated: “This case is important because there are already very few women leaders in the media in Egypt. Especially in Editor In Chief positions and this kind of censorship has a deeply negative impact on the newsroom and women journalists in particular. This is precisely why we think authorities in Egypt have been persistent in targeting the press. This needs to change.”

Arbitrary detention of Nora Younis comes in line with Egyptian authorities’ policies of breaching human rights, restricting freedom of expression, and diminishing freedom of the press. It’s time for the Egyptian regime to review its human rights practices and unleash independent media and journalists behind bars.

CFWIJ calls out on Egyptian authorities to take this release as a precedent and respect freedom of press.

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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.

Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ. Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org

The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.

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