Reps. Call for Release of Journalists in Egypt

Photo Credit: Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

A letter to Secretary John Kerry from several members of Congress urged the administration to “take immediate action to help secure the release of journalists in Egypt who are imprisoned on what appear to be baseless and politically motivated charges.” Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA.) led the effort. The letter references the arrests of Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed of Al-Jazeera, on December 29th, and the more recent prosecution of twenty additional journalists, all on similar terrorist-related charges. The letter cites the Associated Press stating, “Al-Jazeera journalists have been targeted for their coverage of Brotherhood protesters. Authorities have long depicted the network as pro-Brotherhood,” and claims this indicates an “obvious violation of the freedom of press and should not be tolerated.” The letter concludes, referencing the “explanatory statement accompanying this year’s annual assistance package to Egypt,” emphasizing that it “specifies your consideration of ‘the support by the government of Egypt for the development of democratic political processes and basic freedoms, including civil society and the media.'”

Meanwhile, Mara Revkin writes that “one of the constitution’s most alarming sections has been overlooked.” She says that, “an unprecedented counter terrorism clause that lays the legal foundation for a police state that is a military dictatorship in all but name.” This clause defines terrorism as “every use of force, violence, threat, or intimidation with the purpose of seriously disrupting public order or endangering society’s interests and security whenever such use would injure people or terrorize them.” Revkin concludes claiming that, “the legalization of a de facto state of emergency in Egypt may ultimately backfire on the military.” She writes that, “as the repression campaign targets everyone from Brotherhood members to the young revolutionaries…the same Egyptians who took to the streets in 2011 could once again lose patience with their government’s use of the law as a tool of authoritarian control.”