Egyptian Police Strom Press Syndicate, Detain Two Journalists
KABUL: (MEP) Egyptian police on Sunday stormed the headquarters of the journalists’ association in central Cairo and arrested two journalists critical of the government, officials said.
“This is the first time that police have stormed the headquarters of the association,” its head Yahiya Kallash told AFP, adding that journalists Amr Badr and Mahmud el-Sakka were arrested.
Badr heads the Arabic-language opposition website Bawabet Yanayer (January Gate), whose name is a reference to the 2011 popular uprising against long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak. Sakka works for the same organization.
On Friday, Badr had written on his Facebook page that police had raided both his and Sakka’s home.
The interior ministry denied officers had stormed the press labor union building, a traditional spot in downtown Cairo to stage protests, but confirmed some of its members had arrested the journalists inside the syndicate.
On Sunday, journalists held a sit-in inside the union when officers arrested two of them working for the opposition website Bawabet Yanayer including its editor, syndicate officials said.
“The incident is true and at the very least the interior minister has to be fired and there needs to be an apology,” Khalid al-Balshy, a syndicate board member told Reuters.
According to rights group Amnesty International, Egyptian security forces arrested hundreds of people ahead of planned protests last month.
