"The British foreign secretary, William Hague, has expressed concern about a crackdown on free expression in Egypt after the indictment of two British journalists on charges of "spreading false news" and aiding alleged terrorists – part of a campaign against journalists that has taken many forms in recent weeks.
In a statement Hague urged the Egyptian interim government "to demonstrate its commitment to an inclusive political process which allows for full freedom of expression and for journalists to operate without the fear of persecution".
The al-Jazeera English correspondents Sue Turton and Dominic Kane are among 20 journalists charged in Egypt with tarnishing the country's reputation abroad, and helping the former president Mohamed Morsi's now-banned Muslim Brotherhood. The pair are safely out of the country, but four of their al-Jazeera colleagues are still in jail after being arrested last year, while one was released this week.
Al-Jazeera is the most prominent target for Egyptian authorities as it is owned by Qatar, which has acted as a safe haven for Brotherhood members since Morsi's overthrow in July. But all foreign media have come under threat because, unlike almost all local outlets, international reporters have tended to question the government narrative that Egypt is on the path to democracy.
As a result, Egyptian newspapers and television channels – both public and private – have claimed that all foreign journalists are funded by the Muslim Brotherhood, or foreign spies. Government officials have also played their part, attacking foreign news outlets, including the Guardian.
"Egyptians believe they are in a state of war against the Muslim Brotherhood, and anyone who gives them a microphone is seen as also wanting to destroy Egypt," said Rena Netjes, a Dutch broadcast journalist who fled Egypt this week after being accused of spreading false news. "So they want to close down anyone who gives them a voice."
The effect on journalists reporting in public spaces has been chilling. Covering anti-government demonstrations has always been dangerous because of the state's frequent use of live bullets and teargas, and the police's tendency to briefly detain journalists at the scene. But now correspondents are wary of reporting at state-sanctioned protests because many members of the public are so hostile to foreign media. – while otherssomeSome think twice about asking journalistic questions in the street, or even of disclosing their profession to taxi drivers.
Nadine Marroushi, a British freelancer and former news agency reporter working in Egypt since 2011, was interviewing pro-government demonstrators making their way to Tahrir Square on the third anniversary of Egypt's revolution on 25 January when she was suddenly accused of working for al-Jazeera. "He kept saying 'al-Jazeera, al-Jazeera', and then he said: 'We have to arrest her,'" Marroushi said, in a story that strikes a chord with anyone reporting in Egypt.
The crowd's mood shifted instantly. People started to attack Marroushi and her colleague, "and one woman was basically strangling me with her scarf". The police sheltered the pair in a nearby building while the mob banged on the door.
While tourists are welcomed with open arms at Egypt's tourist sites, most Cairo-based journalists have experienced similar assaults in crowds, at the hands of both local citizens and police. The weekend Marroushi was attacked, a German film crew was hospitalised after being attacked by a mob, and an Italian journalist was also beaten up. On 25 January alone, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) documented 24 infringements against journalists.
The crackdown on Morsi supporters and secular activists has been far more brutal, but some journalists now fear they will be next after Islamists and then leftist revolutionaries were targeted.
Hossam Meneai, an Egyptian documentary-maker, was arrested at his home on 22 January – a shocking incident that frightened many, said Meneai's British flatmate, Nizar Manek. "They have pulverised the Brotherhood and now they are going after secular liberals, even non-political actors who may at some stage pose some difficulty for the regime," said Manek, a business journalist who witnessed Meneai's arrest, and who has now fled the country. "Hossam and myself are fairly ordinary people – so the fact that they can turn up at our door means they can turn up at anyone's."
Speaking to journalists this week, Egypt's foreign minister, Nabil Fahmy,tried to assuage concerns about a media crackdown. "We welcome foreign press," said Fahmy. [http://nos.nl/video/607270-egyptische-minister-proces-tegen-netjes-zal-eerlijk-zijn.html] "We provide them with assurances of press freedoms, and guarantees for their safety, as long as … [they] pursue their efforts in the law."
But what the law says about journalists is often unclear. The authorities have given only incomprehensible advice on the legality of interviewing the Muslim Brotherhood, who are now designated terrorists despite holding public office less than a year ago. Egypt's new constitution supposedly enshrines free speech, except "in times of war", a term the government has used to describe the crackdown on Islamists.
Authorities stress that accredited journalists have the right to work freely, but there are numerous recent accounts of officials placing more and more obstacles in the path of correspondents seeking accreditation.
Photojournalists are in a particularly precarious position. Not only does the nature of their work force them closer to the violence, but their equipment makes them more visible to vigilantes and police, said Mosa'ab Elshamy, an acclaimed local photojournalist, whose brother Abdullah is one of four al-Jazeera journalists in jail.
"The atmosphere of fear the government has created has made the public suspicious of anyone holding a camera – just as they are suspicious of people looking foreign," he said. "If you're on the streets with a camera and a gas mask, equipment which is not easy to conceal, it's a big challenge."
Photographers leave home expecting at the very least to be stopped for carrying a camera, and perhaps even detained if the camera contains protest photos.
In one case among many, Mosa'ab Elshamy's third brother Mohamed – another respected photojournalist – was also detained for several hours last month because his camera carried pictures of a demonstration. At least four international photojournalists have left Egypt since December because the environment makes it almost impossible for them to do their work.
"Possessing a camera is essentially an offence now," said Mosa'ab Elshamy, "and certainly possessing a camera with protest photos in it.""
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