During this Human Rights Week, we had to dedicate a post to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. As you already know if you are following us on Twitter @MagkaSama and if you read our website, Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid (known as Shawkan) was arrested in 2013 while photographing clashes between Egyptian police and supporters of former president Mohammed Morsi.
He’s been jailed since then, waiting for his trial which has been postponed in September (Jailed Nabeel Rajab and Shawkan get their trial postponed). As Shawkan prepares to mark his 30th birthday behind bars, Katia Roux of Amnesty International tells FRANCE 24 that Shawkan’s health is deteriorating and called for his unconditional release. In this article, Roux explains:
Shawkan is one of many innocent victims caught up in Egypt’s widespread crackdown on journalists, activists and all manner of dissenters. There is no hard evidence against him. For a year and a half, two years, there has been an unprecedented crackdown on Egyptian society, including on journalists and human rights activists. They are seen as dissenting voices that must be silenced. Any means are used, including mass trials that are not based on any tangible evidence.
Activists and journalists are accused of inciting protest, disseminating false rumours, defamation. Political opponents are arrested. It has been documented that Egyptian authorities arrested at least 38 people from five opposition parties and youth groups in April and May over comments made on social media, merely because they criticised the Egyptian president.
Back in October, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi arrived in Paris for an official visit where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron. On this occasion, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) staged a demonstration at the Luxor Obelisk in Place de la Concorde in Paris in protest against Egypt’s disastrous press freedom record. You can read our post on this page.
Roux concludes:
He is a prisoner of conscience who is detained solely because he exercised his right to freedom of expression.
You can show your support to the photojournalist by signing Amnesty’s Online Petition and by following Shawkan’s Twitter account and hashtag:
@ShawkanZeid + #FreeShawkan
