Egypt: IFJ calls for the release of Ahmed Bayoumi and all imprisoned journalists

Journalist Ahmed Bayoumi was forcibly taken from his home in Giza by security forces on 16 September - since when his whereabouts remain unknown. He is the latest journalist arrested amid a worrying wave of media workers' enforced disappearances. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate (EJS) in condemning Bayoumi's arrest and calling on the Egyptian authorities to immediately release him and all journalists imprisoned in the country.

Egyptian journalists took part n a protest outside the Syndicate headquarters in Cairo on May 3, 2016 on the occasion of World Press Freedom day, a day after police stormed the headquarters of the journalists' association and arrested two journalists. Credit: Khaled Desouki / AFP

Bayoumi's relatives received information suggesting that the journalist might be held in Al-Haram Police Station in southern Cairo, but officers denied his presence, according to the journalist's family. Following his abduction, the EJS's president Khaled El-Balshy submitted a formal request to the country's Attorney General to reveal Bayoumi's location, investigate the circumstances of his arrest, and secure his release.

The journalist had been held in pretrial detention for two years, before his release in March 2024. Since then, he has been working covering cultural and artistic topics.

The union's Freedom Committee highlighted that Bayoumi's arrest reflects a troubling trend of detaining journalists, which are in stark contrast to the government'spromises of releasing incarcerated media workers. The head of the committee, Mamdouh Kamel, said: "press freedom is a cornerstone of any democratic society, and journalists should be able to perform their work safely, without fear of harassment or restriction. We are committed to continue campaigning for the release of all our jailed colleagues".

In a statement, the EJS referred to an escalating security crackdown that involved the enforced disappearance of cartoonist Ashraf Omar on 22 July, who worked for the independent news outlet Al-Manassa; and journalist Khaled Mamdouh of the independent news website Arabic Post arrested on 16 July within a week. It also had similar hallmarks to the enforced disappearance on 10 March of journalist Yasser Abu Alaa, a member of EJS, who starteda hunger strike in protest at his treatment in prison. The IFJ has been campaigningfor their release.

EJS president Khaled El-Balshy warned of a resurgence of journalists' arrests and informed about the union's next steps. "We are concerned over the spike of media workers' arrests that reverses the prior commitments to free detained journalists and open the public space for freedom of expression. The union will soon launch a campaign to continue advocating for the release of all imprisoned colleagues, and will work on resolving the issue of extended pretrial detention through all available legal and professional avenues in accordance with our constitution and the law".

According to EJS data, over 24 journalists and media workers remain behind bars in Egypt. Of these, 16 have been held in pretrial detention for over two years, with some cases extending beyond five years.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "We welcome the valuable efforts made by our colleagues in Egypt to shed light on the conditions of jailed journalists and work to put an end to prolonged pretrial detention - a blatant violation of existing laws. The persecution of journalists is a deliberate attempt to silence the media and stop them from reporting the truth. We call on the authorities to uphold press freedom and guarantee the safety of journalists.