The arrest of a prominent advocate of freedom of expression in Egypt today is a clear signal of the Egyptian authorities’ resolve to continue with their ferocious onslaught against independent journalism and civil society, said Amnesty global. An hour after that, Bahgat placed a second phone call to the same friend, saying that initial charges against him included “publishing false information that harms national security”.
Advertisement
Bahgat was summoned for questioning at military intelligence headquarters in Cairo at 9am Sunday, according to Lina Attalah, editor-in-chief of Mada Masr.
Bahgat has been a reporter with the website since 2014.
Bahgat set up the pioneering Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights in 2002.
He has authored several controversial pieces for Mada, including one on the Arab Sharkas cell, the alleged terrorist cell of nine people, six of whom were executed last May. Amnesty global has learned that he is being charged by the military prosecutor in a violation of his right to freedom of expression.
“He is being detained and questioned by the military prosecutor for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and must be immediately and unconditionally released”, said Philip Luther, the director of Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa Program.
Last year, he began working for Mada Masr, an online news website, for which he has written a series of articles about the Egyptian army and ongoing military trials.
As a journalist, Bahgat is known for meticulous investigative reporting for Mada Masr, a respected English-Arabic organization founded in 2013. Prosecutors questioned him until about 5:30 p.m., when they chose to detain him overnight and allowed him for the first time to ask for lawyers, who were only then able to visit him.
The charges stem from an October report Bahgat filed about 26 military officers who had been convicted in a court martial for plotting a coup against the state. His family had received a summons at his official residence in Alexandria on November 5, his defense team told Human Rights Watch.
“If the government of President Abdelfattah al-Sisi were interested in protecting and advancing the rights of Egyptians, it would bring in Hossam Bahgat to provide advice, not prosecute him”, Whitson said.
Advertisement
Military prosecution officials ordered the detention of Bahgat for four days pending investigation on Monday.
