CPJ promotes press freedom worldwide and defends the right of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal.
This month, CPJ’s #FreeThePress campaign focuses on Mahmoud Abou Zeid, also known as Shawkan, a freelance photographer who was detained on August 14, 2013. Shawkan was covering clashes between Egyptian security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi during the dispersal of the pro-Morsi sit-in at Raba'a Al-Adawiya Square in Cairo. Learn more about Shawkan’s case and join CPJ in calling for his immediate release.
As Egypt’s crackdown on the press extends to social media and other communication platforms, many journalists say phishing attempts, trolling, software to monitor social media posts, and a draft law that would require registration for social media users are making them think twice before covering sensitive issues.
The issue of targeting journalists online was brought into focus by the NilePhishscam that has targeted more than 110 journalists and activists since 2016–many of them implicated in a large-scale legal case Egypt brought against non-governmental organizations–according to a joint report published by the Toronto-based Citizen Lab and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a local human rights groups also targeted in the scam.
Through “reverse engineering,” which uses information about the victim to predict their behavior, NilePhish attackers used fake Dropbox and Google Documents invitations to trick victims into entering their account information so hackers could access their communications, according to the report.
🙄 Shameful #Trifecta4Trump: In 44 days, @realdonaldtrump has met with leaders of the 3 worst jailers of journalists: #Egypt, #China & #Turkey.
Come see imprisoned Egyptian photojournalist, Shawkan’s work. In partnership with the Bronx Documentary Center, we are showcasing the work of Shawkan in order to advocate for his swift release, and to highlight the plight of journalists and journalism in #Egypt today. Free and open to the public until September 11.
#FreeShawkan
ON VIEW
September 8 – 11, 2016
OPENING RECEPTION
Thursday, September 8, 6-9PMIn partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“Photography is not a hobby for me. It’s a way of life.” Mahmoud Abou Zeid, better known as “Shawkan”, an Egyptian photojournalist wrote from the infamous Tora prison. Shawkan has been imprisoned since August 14, 2013, when he was arrested while covering the dispersal of a protest of supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, one of the most violent events in the country’s modern history. Shawkan, who was 25 at the time of his arrest, has now spent more than 1000 days behind bars.
Shawkan’s photos are a poignant reminder of the early optimism of the Egyptian revolution and the uprisings which swept the Arab world. From celebrations in Tahrir Square to revolutionary graffiti, the fact that his last photos feel dated is a visual testament to how long he’s been behind bars. Shawkan’s arrest is a marker of a dramatic change in Egypt, which has since transformed into one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is showcasing the work of Shawkan in order to advocate for his swift release, and to highlight the plight of journalists and journalism in Egypt today. Shawkan is a recipient of CPJ’s 2016 International Press Freedom Award.For more information about Shawkan, click here.For more information about the CPJ, click here.
So reads a letter written by Mahmoud Abou Zeid, an Egyptian freelance photojournalist also known as “Shawkan,” has spent more than 1000 days behind bars.
In the letter more than a year ago, Shawkan described the physical and psychological toll that prison has taken on him, but maintained that he simply wants to be free to practice photojournalism: “My passion is photography, but I am paying the price for my passion with my life. Without it, a part of me is missing.”
Shawkan was arrested on August 14, 2013, while he was covering clashes between Egyptian security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo.
Image: Freedom for Shawkan/Aymen Aref Saad
In a televised address, Egypt President AbdelFattah Elsisi asks audience members not to speak about the subject of giving Saudi Arabia control of two Red Sea Islands. Photo Credit: AFP
Tomorrow on Fresh Air: Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef, known in the U.S. as the “Jon Stewart of the Arab world.”