Al Jazeera condemns Egypt’s “terror” list of its journalists

DOHA, Qatar – Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV Network has criticized an Egyptian court’s decision to include several of its journalists and TV presenters in its latest “terrorism” list.

In a statement released Tuesday, Al Jazeera called on Egyptian authorities to reconsider their decision and avoid actions that hinder journalistic work.

Al Jazeera also called on the United Nations and international human rights organizations to pressure Egypt to stop arbitrarily listing journalists.

Egypt’s “terrorist” list is renewed every five years.

Those on the list face a range of punitive measures, including travel bans, asset freezes, and passport cancellations.

The Cairo Criminal Court was responsible for the recent verdict, which was published in the official newspaper al-Waqai’ al-Masriya.

The network also called for the immediate release of two of its journalists, Rabee al-Sheikh and Bahaa al-Din Ibrahim, as well as other journalists currently imprisoned in Egypt.

Both Rabee al-Sheikh and Bahaa al-Din Ibrahim were arrested while visiting their families in Egypt.

The arrests took place in February 2020 and August 2021, respectively.

U.N representatives have stated that the detention of journalists should not be allowed and have criticized the abuse of Egypt’s anti-terrorism law.

At least 170 journalists have been detained over the past 10 years, and dozens of others have been arbitrarily arrested and interrogated.

Access to more than 500 news websites has also been blocked, and six journalists have been killed.