The Egyptian Supreme State Security Prosecution decided to hold journalist Sayed Saber for 15 days pending investigation, a decision that reaffirms the ongoing limitations on freedom of expression.
The decision was made in response to a Facebook post by Saber that decried what he called the “fascism of military rule” and addressed the relationship between the military and civil authorities in a sarcastic manner.
After being taken to an unidentified location following his arrest last Tuesday night, Saber was brought before the prosecution for further investigation.
The investigations concentrated on his post where he sarcastically discussed the relationship between the military and civil authorities, which the authorities deemed a violation that necessitated detention.
Khaled Al-Balshy, the head of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, said that more than 23 journalists were detained in Egypt, including 15 who had been in pretrial detention for more than two years, in flagrant violation of the law.
Al-Balshy said that some journalists have been imprisoned without charge or trial for over five years, which raises serious concerns about the use of pretrial detention as an arbitrary punishment.
In sharp contrast to international commitments under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantee freedom of expression for everyone without arbitrary restrictions, journalist Sayed Saber’s arrest represents the latest in a string of ongoing violations of press freedom in Egypt.
Human rights organizations and the international community are urged by the arrest of journalists and activists to demand that the Egyptian government immediately free them, stop using pretrial detention as a form of repression, and enact legal changes that ensure the protection of freedom of the press and the right to free speech.
