Egypt: Authorities Release 3 Women Journalists After Years Behind Bars
Safaa El-Korbaji, Hala Fahmy, and Manal Agrama first detained in 2022
Location: Egypt, CairoDate: February 7, 2024
Women Press Freedom welcomes the release of three women journalists by Egyptian authorities. While this news is celebrated as a step in the right direction, we remind authorities that other journalists still remain behind bars, including Alia Awad, who is serving a 15-year sentence for reporting. We urge authorities to release all media workers from its prisons, to end its mistreatment of critical press, and allow journalists to report without harassment.
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On February 7, 2024, Egyptian authorities released 32 pre-trial detainees, including three women journalists — Safaa El-Korbaji, Hala Fahmy, and Manal Agrama — who had been imprisoned for two years.
In 2022, Hala Fahmy and Safaa Al-Korbaji were detained by state authorities after posting online videos critical of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's government and participating in media workers' strikes. They were charged with joining a group allegedly founded unlawfully and spreading false news.
Manal Agrama, a retired journalist, was forcibly disappeared by unidentified men believed to be state security police ahead of the COP 27 climate summit in November 2022. She has been languishing behind bars in pre-trial detention since, pending an investigation. Agrama’s arrest was purportedly due to her political views, and she faced severe accusations, including joining and financing a terrorist group, inciting a terrorist act, participating in a criminal agreement aimed at committing a terrorist act, and using social media to promote terrorism.
Demands for her release were amplified by the passing of her father in February, leaving behind an elderly mother in need of care. The former journalist for the state broadcaster was suffering from health issues, notably in her spine, exacerbated by neglect during her detention.
While the release of Safaa El-Korbaji, Hala Fahmy, and Manal Agrama is a positive development, it must not overshadow the concerning reality faced by other media professionals in Egypt. Despite the freedom granted to these three journalists, 18 others remain detained in connection with their work, including photojournalist Alia Nasreddin Awad, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Incarcerated since 2017, she was convicted on terrorism and vandalism charges for filming protesters in 2015. Only six of the detained media workers in Egypt have been tried and convicted, leaving the majority held without trial.
Women Press Freedom celebrates the release of Safaa El-Korbaji, Hala Fahmy, and Manal Agrama as a step towards press freedom in Egypt. However, the detention of numerous other media professionals continues to raise serious concerns. We continue to call on authorities to release all journalists unjustly detained.
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