JournalismPakistan.com | Published February 20, 2019
Join our WhatsApp channel
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned Tuesday's detention and expulsion of New York Times correspondent David D. Kirkpatrick and the ongoing detention of Egyptian journalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada and calls on Egyptian authorities to allow journalists to travel into the country and report freely.
Kirkpatrick had his phone confiscated and was held incommunicado at the airport for seven hours without food or water before authorities forced him onto a flight back to London without explanation, according to the Times. Authorities returned his phone, one of Kirkpatrick's colleagues told CPJ. The paper called the expulsion a threat to Egypt's position as a center of the international press in the Middle East.
"Journalists including David Kirkpatrick and Ahmed Gamal Ziada serve the Egyptian and international public by speaking truth to power and exposing corruption, injustice, and lies," said CPJ's Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. "Egyptian authorities must free all journalists in custody and allow the media to do its job without fear of imprisonment or harassment."
The Egyptian prosecutor general's office and Ministry of Interior, which oversee the authorities at Cairo International Airport, did not immediately respond to CPJ's emailed requests for comment.
Kirkpatrick was Cairo bureau chief for the Times from 2011 to 2015, and is the author of a recent book on the country's 2011 uprising, according to the Times. Last year, he reported on Egyptian authorities' control of news coverage on relations with Israel, among other sensitive topics.
The move against Kirkpatrick comes after authorities detained Ziada at Cairo International Airport upon his return to Egypt from Tunisia on January 29; Ziada was held incommunicado until his charges - spreading false news on social media - were announced on February 13, according to local rights groups and media reports.
On February 16, Ziada's detention was extended by an additional 15 days, according to Egyptian independent news website Mada Masr.
Ziada was returning to Egypt to finish his application for membership in Egypt's semi-governmental Journalists Syndicate, which provides official accreditation and legal support to journalists, according to his colleagues who petitioned the syndicate on social media to approve his membership. Today, the syndicate board members officially granted membership to Ziada, according to posts by journalists and a former syndicate board member on social media.
Ziada was first arrested on charges of spreading false news and joining a banned group in December 2013, when he was working as a photojournalist for the online news network Yaqeen, but he was acquitted and released 16 months later, CPJ documented at the time.
He was also detained briefly in April 2018 when authorities shuttered the Cairo office of news website Masr al-Arabia, where Ziada had worked as the head of the video department, as CPJ reported at the time.
In December 2018, CPJ's annual prison survey found that at least 25 journalists are in prison in Egypt and that Egypt leads the world for charging journalists with publishing false news. – A CPJ News Alert/Photo: Reuters
April 11, 2025: Sindhi journalist AD Shar was brutally murdered in Khairpur, Sindh. His body was found dumped on Handiyari Link Road. PFUJ has declared a three-day mourning period and demanded justice.
April 10, 2025: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir government has filed a case against The Daily Jammu & Kashmir and its staff for alleged fake news, drawing condemnation from PFUJ and IFJ, who demand immediate withdrawal of the FIR and an end to media repression in Pakistan.
April 08, 2025: Journalist Arzoo Kazmi alleges that Pakistan's state agencies, including the FIA, have blocked her CNIC, passport, and bank account while threatening her. She calls it a direct attack on journalism.
April 07, 2025: The Islamabad High Court has directed IG Islamabad to produce journalist Ahmad Noorani’s missing brothers, as the Ministry of Defence denies custody. SIM activity was traced in Bahawalpur, and investigations into their suspected abduction continue.
April 07, 2025: Journalist and Raftar founder Farhan Mallick has been granted bail by a Karachi court in a case concerning anti-state content aired on his YouTube channel. He still faces separate charges related to an alleged illegal call center and data theft.
April 03, 2025: Veteran journalist Ghulam Abbas Shah has joined Discover Pakistan Television as the Head of Programming. With 25 years of experience in leading news organizations, he looks forward to contributing to quality storytelling and content.
April 02, 2025: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has strongly condemned the visit of a group of Pakistani journalists to Israel, calling it a violation of journalistic ethics and a betrayal of press freedom and human rights. PFUJ demands a transparent investigation into the matter.
March 30, 2025: Dawn criticizes Pakistan’s plan to use TV dramas against extremism, highlighting financial and digital challenges. Can media alone solve deep-rooted issues?
April 03, 2025 The International Press Institute (IPI) and International Media Support (IMS) invite nominations for the 2025 World Press Freedom Hero and Free Media Pioneer Awards. Recognizing courageous journalists and innovative media, the awards will be presented at IPI’s 75th-anniversary World Congress in Vienna. Submit your nominations by April 30, 2025.
April 01, 2025 Photojournalist Suresh Rajak was burned alive while covering a violent protest in Kathmandu. The IFJ and its affiliates condemn the attack and call for an urgent investigation to hold the perpetrators accountable.
April 01, 2025 Assam Police arrested digital journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder for covering a protest against alleged corruption at Assam Co-Operative Bank. Media organizations have condemned the arrest, calling it an attack on press freedom.
March 29, 2025 A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle Voice of America (VOA), ruling that the move likely violated legal procedures. The decision protects over 1,200 journalists and media staff.
March 28, 2025 Turkey deports BBC journalist Mark Lowen over 'public order' threat and fines opposition TV channels covering Istanbul Mayor's arrest. Critics condemn crackdown on press freedom amid rising political tensions.