The attacks and restrictions against the Palestinian journalists are part of a broader pattern of obstruction and hostility toward the press in Israel. For more than 20 months, Israeli authorities have barred foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip and, as of June 17, have killed 185 Palestinian journalists in Gaza, including at least 17 who were targeted for their work.

CPJ has documented at least eight separate incidents on June 14 and 15 involving the harassment, obstruction, equipment confiscation, incitement, and, in some cases, forced removal by Israeli police, of at least 14 journalists. Most of the journalists work for Arabic-language outlets and were reporting from sites impacted by Iranian or Israeli strikes. Despite their press credentials and lawful access, journalists were repeatedly blocked from entering sites, assaulted by civilians, and in several cases expelled from reporting sites by police or border guard forces.

“We are deeply concerned by the troubling pattern of targeting Palestinian journalists working inside Israel. On June 14 and June 15, at least 14 journalists were obstructed, incited against, or physically assaulted for simply doing their jobs,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Israeli authorities must immediately investigate these violations, hold perpetrators accountable, and stop treating Palestinian journalists covering the war as threats.”

Physical attacks:

On June 14, police in Rishon LeZion prevented Sameer Abdel Hadi, a correspondent for Turkish news agency Anadolu, and Arej Hakroush, a correspondent for privately owned, London-based online news channel Al-Ghad TV, from returning to reporting sites they had legally entered and confiscated their equipment. Before police forcibly expelled them from the street where they were broadcasting, unidentified individuals called Hakroush and her camera operator, Alaa Al-Heeh, racial slurs and physically attacked them while police refused to intervene, according to Abdel Hadi and Hakroush, who spoke with CPJ. The individuals beat the journalists with their equipment and pulled Hakroush by the hair.

On June 15, in Bat Yam, Al-Ghad TV correspondent Razi Tattour and camera operator Eyad Abu Shalbak were pushed and harassed by border police officers after speaking Arabic at the site of a rocket strike. The officers forcibly cut their live transmission, confiscated their camera, and accused them of being “terrorists,” Tattour told CPJ. The camera was later returned, and Tattour filed a police complaint.

Separately that day in Bat Yam, journalists Marwan Othmanah and Mohamed Al-Sharif of Saudi broadcaster Al-Arabiya were targeted by a group of unidentified individuals, who shouted, “Get out Arabs!” and threw objects at them, injuring Othmanah in the thigh. Police did not make any arrests or protect the journalists, Othmanah told CPJ.

Incitement and threats on social media:

On June 15, in Haifa, several journalists — including Abdel Hadi of Turkish-based Anadolu; freelancers Ward Qarara and Kareen Al-Bash; reporters Saeed Khair El-Din, Israa Al-Zeer, and Abd Khader of Al-Arabiya; and Ahmed Jaradat, a reporter for independent regional broadcaster Al-Araby TV — were filming a segment on the aftermath of rocket strikes when unidentified individuals began filming them and circulating their images in posts in Israeli social media groups, accusing all them of working for “the enemy,” according to Qarara and CPJ’s review of those posts. Police were present at the scene but did not intervene or offer protection to the journalists, he told CPJ.

Censorship:

On June 14, the Israeli military censor instructed local and international media not to publish details about rocket strikes or internal security. A Fox News reporter, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal, said they were banned from entering a reporting site after they were accused of violating the instructions.

Additionally, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announced that he had asked Israel’s General Security Services, also known as Shin Bet, to investigate foreign media broadcasters over claims they were “giving information to the enemy.”

CPJ emailed the Israeli Defense Forces’ North America Media Deskto ask about these actions against journalists but did not immediately receive a response.

Editor’s note: The fifth paragraph was updated to include the equipment confiscation.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program.

The attacks and restrictions against the Palestinian journalists are part of a broader pattern of obstruction and hostility toward the press in Israel. For more than 20 months, Israeli authorities have barred foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip and, as of June 17, have killed 185 Palestinian journalists in Gaza, including at least 17 who were targeted for their work.

CPJ has documented at least eight separate incidents on June 14 and 15 involving the harassment, obstruction, equipment confiscation, incitement, and, in some cases, forced removal by Israeli police, of at least 14 journalists. Most of the journalists work for Arabic-language outlets and were reporting from sites impacted by Iranian or Israeli strikes. Despite their press credentials and lawful access, journalists were repeatedly blocked from entering sites, assaulted by civilians, and in several cases expelled from reporting sites by police or border guard forces.

“We are deeply concerned by the troubling pattern of targeting Palestinian journalists working inside Israel. On June 14 and June 15, at least 14 journalists were obstructed, incited against, or physically assaulted for simply doing their jobs,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Israeli authorities must immediately investigate these violations, hold perpetrators accountable, and stop treating Palestinian journalists covering the war as threats.”

Physical attacks:

On June 14, police in Rishon LeZion prevented Sameer Abdel Hadi, a correspondent for Turkish news agency Anadolu, and Arej Hakroush, a correspondent for privately owned, London-based online news channel Al-Ghad TV, from returning to reporting sites they had legally entered and confiscated their equipment. Before police forcibly expelled them from the street where they were broadcasting, unidentified individuals called Hakroush and her camera operator, Alaa Al-Heeh, racial slurs and physically attacked them while police refused to intervene, according to Abdel Hadi and Hakroush, who spoke with CPJ. The individuals beat the journalists with their equipment and pulled Hakroush by the hair.

On June 15, in Bat Yam, Al-Ghad TV correspondent Razi Tattour and camera operator Eyad Abu Shalbak were pushed and harassed by border police officers after speaking Arabic at the site of a rocket strike. The officers forcibly cut their live transmission, confiscated their camera, and accused them of being “terrorists,” Tattour told CPJ. The camera was later returned, and Tattour filed a police complaint.

Separately that day in Bat Yam, journalists Marwan Othmanah and Mohamed Al-Sharif of Saudi broadcaster Al-Arabiya were targeted by a group of unidentified individuals, who shouted, “Get out Arabs!” and threw objects at them, injuring Othmanah in the thigh. Police did not make any arrests or protect the journalists, Othmanah told CPJ.

Incitement and threats on social media:

On June 15, in Haifa, several journalists — including Abdel Hadi of Turkish-based Anadolu; freelancers Ward Qarara and Kareen Al-Bash; reporters Saeed Khair El-Din, Israa Al-Zeer, and Abd Khader of Al-Arabiya; and Ahmed Jaradat, a reporter for independent regional broadcaster Al-Araby TV — were filming a segment on the aftermath of rocket strikes when unidentified individuals began filming them and circulating their images in posts in Israeli social media groups, accusing all them of working for “the enemy,” according to Qarara and CPJ’s review of those posts. Police were present at the scene but did not intervene or offer protection to the journalists, he told CPJ.

Censorship:

On June 14, the Israeli military censor instructed local and international media not to publish details about rocket strikes or internal security. A Fox News reporter, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal, said they were banned from entering a reporting site after they were accused of violating the instructions.

Additionally, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announced that he had asked Israel’s General Security Services, also known as Shin Bet, to investigate foreign media broadcasters over claims they were “giving information to the enemy.”

CPJ emailed the Israeli Defense Forces’ North America Media Deskto ask about these actions against journalists but did not immediately receive a response.

Editor’s note: The fifth paragraph was updated to include the equipment confiscation.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program.

“The detention and travel ban imposed on Emtithal Abdel Fadil by the Sudanese Armed Forces are clear acts of harassment meant to intimidate reporters covering the war,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Sudanese authorities must cease all restrictions on journalists’ movement so that they can report freely and without fear.”

On April 19, the SAF arrested Abdel Fadil in the eastern city of Kassala at 5 a.m. as she was traveling to Port Sudan, according to the trade union Sudanese Journalists Syndicate and a journalist familiar with the case, who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. The soldiers blindfolded the journalist, searched her phone and social media accounts, and questioned her for three days before releasing her without charge, those sources said.

The SAF banned Abdel Fadil from traveling outside Kassala on the grounds that she could be summoned for further questioning at any time, the unnamed journalist told CPJ.

The journalists’ union condemned Abdel Fadil’s arrest as “arbitrary” and the travel ban as “a flagrant violation of press freedom.”

Sudan has been at war since April 2023. The power struggle between the SAF and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has displaced nearly 13 million people, causing famine and the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

CPJ has since documented dozens of abuses of the media, including arrests, threats, torture, and the killing of at least six journalists and two media workers.

CPJ’s email to the SAF requesting comment on Abdel Fadil’s arrest did not receive any replies.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

The journalists killed were Farouk al-Zahir, producer and director, Magdy Abdel Rahman, a camera operator, Ibrahim Mudawi, an editor and director, who succumbed to his injuries later that day, and the crew’s driver, Wajeh Jaafar. 

“We are deeply saddened by the killing of Sudanese state television journalists Farouk Al-Zahir, Magdy Abdel Rahman, Ibrahim Mudawi, and their driver Wajeh Jaafar, who were killed while courageously covering historical events on the ground in Khartoum,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “Journalists should never be targets in conflict. All parties to Sudan’s war must ensure the safety of the press and respect the essential role journalists play in documenting truth, even in times of war.”

The state television crew had arrived at the presidential palace early Friday to document the SAF’s advance when they were hit by what was described as a loitering munition. Two local journalists told CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal, that the journalists were targeted by the RSF for their coverage.

Sudan remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists since the war between the SAF and the RSF broke out April 2023, with at least 8 journalists killed in connection with the war.

CPJ’s requests for comment about the killings sent to the RSF via Telegram were not returned.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

The journalists killed were Farouk al-Zahir, producer and director, Magdy Abdel Rahman, a camera operator, Ibrahim Mudawi, an editor and director, who succumbed to his injuries later that day, and the crew’s driver, Wajeh Jaafar. 

“We are deeply saddened by the killing of Sudanese state television journalists Farouk Al-Zahir, Magdy Abdel Rahman, Ibrahim Mudawi, and their driver Wajeh Jaafar, who were killed while courageously covering historical events on the ground in Khartoum,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “Journalists should never be targets in conflict. All parties to Sudan’s war must ensure the safety of the press and respect the essential role journalists play in documenting truth, even in times of war.”

The state television crew had arrived at the presidential palace early Friday to document the SAF’s advance when they were hit by what was described as a loitering munition. Two local journalists told CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal, that the journalists were targeted by the RSF for their coverage.

Sudan remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists since the war between the SAF and the RSF broke out April 2023, with at least 8 journalists killed in connection with the war.

CPJ’s requests for comment about the killings sent to the RSF via Telegram were not returned.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

The letter highlights the urgency of Abdelfattah’s case as he began a hunger strike in prison on March 1, 2025. His 69-year-old mother, Laila Soueif—a respected Egyptian professor—conducted a hunger strike for more than 150 days, which led to severe health deterioration and hospitalization. 

On March 4, CPJ led another joint letter, signed by 50 prominent human rights leaders, Nobel Prize laureates, writers, and public figures, calling on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to grant a presidential pardon to Abd El Fattah.

Read the full letter in here.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

Thousands gathered in Beirut Sunday to mourn the death of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s longtime leader who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September. Under a ceasefire agreement, Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon last week, but it continues to illegally occupy five locations in the country. Correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous traveled to Lebanon last week to report from the ground in southern Lebanon and to cover Nasrallah’s funeral, one of the biggest in the region in decades. The large turnout of thousands of Lebanese mourners was a “show of presence and of support for Hezbollah, which suffered heavy losses in Israel’s war on Lebanon,” Abdel Kouddous says.

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

“The blocking of Zawia3 is yet another example of Egyptian authorities arbitrarily censoring media without legal justification, using technology to suppress journalism and restrict Egyptians’ access to information,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna. “Targeting a media outlet based abroad is a clear act of transnational repression. Egypt’s telecommunications service providers should recognize that their services are being weaponized to silence independent media.”

In a statement posted online, Zawia3 said it noticed network disruptions on February 15, with independent experts confirming on February 19 that the outlet’s site had been blocked in Egypt by an “unknown entity.” According to Zawia3, the blocking was executed using a “reset attack,” which disrupts connections.

Ahmed Gamal Ziada, editor-in-chief of Zawia3 and a Brussels-based Egyptian journalist, told CPJ, “We are conducting investigative journalism on Egypt, and independent investigative reporting is not welcomed by those who fail to understand its role in exposing corruption and promoting accountability.”

Egyptian authorities under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi have used various transnational repression tactics to target journalists and human rights defenders. In August 2023, Ziada’s father was arrested in Egypt and questioned about his son’s journalism during interrogations. He was later released in September 2023 after being accused of using social media to spread false information.

Egypt has a history of blocking independent media, blocking Egyptian news site Cairo 24 in November 2024.

CPJ emailed Egypt’s Supreme Council for Media Regulation for comment on Zawia3 but did not receive any reply.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

“The arrest of journalist Sayed Saber is the latest example of Egypt’s crackdown on journalists and press freedom,” said Yeganeh Rezaian, CPJ’s interim MENA program coordinator. “CPJ has documented the arrests of six other journalists and writers since the beginning of this year, underscoring the urgency of addressing this alarming trend. This demonstrates yet again the lengths the Egyptian government will go to stifle reporting and commentary it disagrees with. Egypt must release Saber without charges, free the other six journalists, and end its intensified campaign against the press.”

Saber’s arrest is believed to be linked to recent social media posts criticizing military rule in Egypt. He is an established Egyptian journalist and writer with contributions to various media outlets and several published books. Known for his sharp critiques of the current political regime in Egypt, Saber often uses a sarcastic tone to deliver his commentary.

On September 9, CPJ and 34 other human rights and press freedom organizations, issued a joint statement condemning the recent arrests and enforced disappearances of four Egyptian journalists — Ashraf Omar, Khaled Mamdouh, Ramadan Gouida, and Yasser Abu Al-Ela — and called for their unconditional release. On October 23, CPJ documented the arrests of economic commentator Abdel Khaleq Farouk and journalist Ahmed Bayoumi. All six journalists remain in detention.

CPJ’s email to the Egyptian Ministry of Interior requesting comment on Saber’s arrests did not receive an immediate response

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

“The arrest of Abdel Khaleq Farouk shows once again how far the Egyptian government is willing to go to stifle reporting and commentary it disagrees with,” said Yeganeh Rezaian, CPJ’s interim Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “Egypt must let Farouk go without charges, release journalist Ahmed Bayoumi, arrested last month, and stop its newly intensified campaign of locking up the press.”

Farouk appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) on October 21. an unnamed legal source told The New Arab that his arrest was likely prompted by a series of articles that he published on his Facebook account. These articles were critical of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s economic policies, particularly regarding the construction of Egypt’s New Administrative Capital and Sisi’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war. Farouk was previously arrested in October 2018 after publishing a book which questioned the government’s economic policies.

In a separate incident, journalist Ahmed Bayoumi of the independent media outlet Erem News was arrested September 16 and the circumstances of his arrest and whereabouts have not been disclosed. Bayoumi was previously arrested in December 2017 and charged with joining a terrorist organization and spreading false news. He was held in detention for two years before being released in December 2019.     

On September 9, CPJ, alongside 34 other human rights and press freedom organizations, issued a joint statement condemning the recent arrests and enforced disappearances of four other Egyptian journalists—Ashraf Omar, Khaled Mamdouh, Ramadan Gouida, and Yasser Abu Al-Ela—and called for their unconditional release. The four journalists remain in detention.     

CPJ’s email to the Egyptian Ministry of Interior requesting comment on Farouk and Bayoumi’s arrests did not receive an immediate response.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.

On Tuesday, June 4, soldiers with the Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) raided Razek’s home in the el-Dorshab neighborhood north of Khartoum and shot him dead along with three of his family members who were with him at the time, according to news reports, a local journalist following the case who talked with CPJ on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, and a Facebook statement posted by the local Sudanese Journalists Syndicate trade union, which called Razek’s death an “assassination.”

“We are deeply alarmed by the killing of journalist Muawiya Abdel Razek and three of his family members in his home by armed soldiers of the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna, in New York. “The Sudanese authorities must investigate Razek’s killing and hold those responsible to account. All parties in the ongoing war must respect the rights of journalists as they report on crucial matters of public interest.”

In December 2023, Razek, an investigative journalist who worked with many local newspapers including Al-Jarifa, Akhir Lahza , and Al-Akhbar, was detained by the RSF for three days after he was accused of working with military intelligence, according to those sources.

CPJ’s emails to the RSF about Abdel Razek’s killing received no replies.

Since the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF started in mid-April of last year, many journalists have been killed, arrested, injured, displaced, and assaulted. 

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

Together, these three women play a central role in the difficult task of supporting Gaza’s press corps at a time of unprecedented strife and loss amid Israeli attacks and restrictions on basic supplies. At least 95 journalists and media workers have been killed since the war began on October 7. The vast majority of these fatalities are Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes; Israeli forces also killed three Lebanese journalists and two Israelis were killed by Hamas. With international journalists blocked from entering Gaza, the responsibility of covering the war falls on those who are living through it.

Osman, executive editor of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, Khayyat, communications officer at the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, and Rahman, the founder and director of the women- and youth-focused Palestinian NGO Filastiniyat, are committed to helping Gaza journalists survive and continue to report. Collectively, they have provided aid to hundreds of journalists on the ground. (CPJ recently supported these three groups with a $300,000 grant in emergency funds.)

CPJ spoke with Osman, Rahman, and Khayyat in separate phone calls about the day-to-day reality for journalists in Gaza and the challenges with providing aid in wartime. The interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Hoda Osman, executive editor of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism

What are you hearing from journalists on the ground?

The day-to-day includes a lot of uncertainty and unpredictability. They have a home today, they might not have a home tomorrow. They have their family members with them today, they might lose them tomorrow. They themselves are alive today, they might be injured or killed tomorrow. Almost all the journalists we know have lost someone. The recent Israeli air strike on the hospital in Deir el Balah, where several journalists were injured, was a potent reminder of how things could change any day.

Almost all the journalists we know have been displaced, many of them have more than once, and many of them are living in tents. They have lost a lot of weight and it’s visible in pictures. Finding food and water is a daily challenge, especially in the north [where the international community warns of a famine]. One of the journalists told me he reports stories of people facing hunger when he himself is hungry. Using the bathroom is extremely difficult; imagine having to stand in line for hours to use the bathroom. One journalist told me they limit how much they drink so they wouldn’t need to use the bathroom frequently. These journalists are covering this war while facing this humanitarian crisis that everyone in Gaza is facing right now.

There are also work-related challenges. There is no protective gear in Gaza, except what was already there. Transportation due to fuel shortages is difficult, so moving from place to place to report is a problem. One journalist was jokingly telling me that donkey and horsecarts have now become the norm. Another journalist I know walks several kilometers every morning from their tent to the hospital where they work and walks back at the end of the day.

Then there are communications: How do you work as a journalist without power or connectivity? It’s a huge challenge to charge phones or other devices. A couple of journalists we know had their phones stolen because they were charging them in public places. Many journalists left their equipment when they left their homes, and they end up losing work because they have nothing to use to report. I can’t tell you how many journalists tell me they’re using their mother’s phone; some journalists write and file stories on their nieces’ phones. They’re not high-quality phones. They do everything on one device, if they’re lucky to have one. They record, they edit, they take pictures, they write, and they file. They get very little rest and they work constantly.

What type of support are you giving to journalists in Gaza?

Our focus from the start has been on replacing the lost or damaged equipment, allowing journalists to continue working and providing for themselves and their families. It also gives them a purpose: It helps to continue to work. We had to adapt constantly to the changing situation and where the journalists were. They kept moving south, so we changed our operations to be able to provide what they needed, wherever they were. We also provided humanitarian assistance like tents, mattresses and covers, clothes, and toiletries. We set up a couple of common working areas that are equipped with solar panels, chairs, tables, and internet connectivity. So far, we’ve assisted 150 journalists with both humanitarian assistance and equipment replacement. 

Can you talk about the equipment your group has been able to provide to journalists?

We are purchasing everything from inside Gaza and there are shortages now. We have resorted to buying used equipment when we can’t find what is needed on the market. For photojournalists, whose work is taking pictures and videos, if they have no camera how do they do their work? We are providing them with phones that have high enough quality to take good quality pictures and videos, like the iPhone 14 Pro Max. For the journalists who are not photojournalists and they write, they report, they interview, we try to determine the need and are careful about making sure we provide them with something really helpful for their work.

It’s especially important to support the journalists with equipment to continue reporting because no foreign journalists are allowed to enter Gaza. Many of the journalists who work for international organizations have been evacuated, so who is going to cover what is going on if these brave journalists don’t continue to do it?

Rania Khayyat, communications officer of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate

What are you hearing from the journalists you’re supporting about their daily lives?

They are under threat and used to living with the voice of the drones in the sky the whole time. They are used to expecting any explosion at any time. Outside of [the southern Gaza city] Rafah, it’s very dangerous. They really expect to die daily. Every time you call them, they always tell us the same sentence, it may be their “last call.” When you call them, you feel like you’re in a nightmare.

We’re not always able to communicate with people in north Gaza, and we’re happy if we can get a line with them. It is impossible to get money to journalists in the north. Many of them want to move to Rafah, but they have family members who are disabled, they cannot move.It’s a personal decision.They stay in danger. There are about 150 journalists who remain in north Gaza.

How are Gaza’s journalists continuing to work during the war?

If they did not do their job, nobody would know what happened. This is their only source of income, so they are obliged to do their job in a very hard situation. It also depends on who the journalist works for. If he is a freelancer in Rafah, his mobility is only on foot. If you work for an outlet that gives you a car and fuel, that’s easier.

The internet and communication services have been interrupted many times and are expected to be interrupted, so journalists are finding alternatives. They tell me, “If you didn’t get me on this number, try this Israeli number,” or, “I will get an internet connection from Egypt.”

How are you planning to provide support to journalists as the war continues?

This is a hard thing to predict. We don’t know what will happen, even the scenarios of the war: Will it end or will it expand? The journalists still hope to return to their homes, even under rubble. They all say, “Even under rubble we will live better than being in a tent.” It all depends on political developments. Every day we have new needs and we try to respond to them based on the situation. I’m speaking with about 10 journalists daily, mainly on WhatsApp. Others, it’s every two or three weeks. I check in on them and see what they need. I ask how they are. They are really my friends.

Wafa’ Abdel Rahman, founder and director of Filastiniyat

What can you tell us about the reality on the ground for Gaza’s journalists?

There is a difference between the journalists who are based in the north of Gaza — Jabalia, Gaza City, Beit Hanoun — a different reality for those in the middle, and another different reality in the south. When it comes to the north, it’s worse because you have the famine. It’s not just the bombardment, it’s the lack of food, water, and medicine.

These are not journalists who have been deployed to Gaza, and it’s not their choice to be there. This looks very tough when talking about women journalists: Everyone is expecting them to take care of the family, to maintain the family, to cook for the family. The majority want to continue reporting, while at the same time taking care of their families.

Can you talk about the importance of journalists being able to continue reporting on this war?

First, there is nobody else [to report], and we need to put more pressure on letting international media in. Second, which is no less important: With the bombardment of the main human rights organizations and [reports of] the targeting of their field workers, whether they like it or not the journalists become human rights defenders. Journalists are the ones who are documenting the crimes. They are our eyes and ears on the ground. They’re the voices of those who are killed and those who are still surviving. We need them.

Even when it comes to the assistance distribution, it’s the word of the journalists. They’re covering where you can go, what you can do, where you can find vaccines. The journalists are needed inside Gaza, and they are needed for the outside world to know what’s going on. It’s a huge responsibility.

Your organization has provided material aid to journalists, from hygiene kits to tents for female journalists to work and sleep. What do you provide when such materials are hard to come by?

After everything got scarce, the best way to provide help was cash. We started providing cash to women journalists, who are the priority, but we’re helping male journalists too. We have so far served more than 300 women journalists and 120 male journalists with cash. The average amount of cash assistance given to journalists is 800 shekels (US$217). We’ll need to increase this again because the prices have, in some cases, increased by 600 percent. For example, sugar is 70 shekels (US$19.42) a kilo now and it was six shekels (US$1.66) before the war.

What is in high demand by the journalists you’re helping?

The first demand is for a ceasefire now. Second, journalists want to evacuate Gaza, it’s a demand that is growing a lot.

On the ground, we still need tents for the families of the journalists. We need to preserve their dignity, so structures like portable houses would be better until this war is over. There are also the primitive needs: the clean water and the medicine. There is no medicine, you can’t find anything for the flu, for headaches. Getting those in is a luxury.

What does it mean for journalists to want to leave Gaza, knowing they might not be able to ever go back?

It’s as simple as that, it’s genocide. You’re not talking about a war or a conflict. Those people we’re talking about, they survived six wars before. In 2021, according to our monitoring, more than 49 media outlets were destroyed and bombarded, including our office in Gaza. Despite all the difficult situations that they went through, they never thought of asking for evacuation. Never. Today it’s not a question of can they stand it, it’s a life or death threat.

[Editor’s note: CPJ has not independently confirmed the total number of media outlets attacked in 2021.]

The targeted killing of journalists says a lot. We’ve seen how people are reacting to journalists. One of our reporters moved from Gaza City to a relative’s house further south. He had one condition, that she doesn’t work. In order for her to continue working she would wait for everyone to sleep. She’s working in secrecy, and when we publish her work we don’t use her name upon her request, because it’s too dangerous for her. When you don’t have social protection because everyone is scared for their lives, and when you see with your own eyes your colleagues and friends getting killed, it’s not easy. This is why they reach this point of khalas [“enough”], it’s time to leave. 

Our editor evacuated to Egypt with her children and she continued working. I wanted to give her a couple of weeks off, I wanted her to settle. She said she felt guilty and she wanted to work. They evacuate, but they don’t really leave.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Lucy Westcott.

This content originally appeared on The Intercept and was authored by The Intercept.

As the United Nations calls again for a ceasefire in Gaza, Palestinian health officials are warning thousands of women, children and sick people could soon die as Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza. Gaza is also facing a second day of a communications blackout. “Gaza City itself is a hollow shell” where “the streets have been turned into graveyards” and “the smell of death is everywhere,” says independent journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous. “It increasingly seems that Israel is trying to push Palestinians into Egypt, which is a long-standing colonial fantasy,” he says of Israel’s campaign of Palestinian displacement in Gaza. Kouddous also calls out the journalism community’s silence in the face of what is the deadliest conflict for journalists in decades, noting the “bias being laid bare.”

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

As an armed conflict between Sudan's military and a paramilitary group intensifies in the capital Khartoum and surrounding areas, Amnesty International on Monday implored the warring factions to protect civilians and ensure access to humanitarian aid.

Since fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Saturday, more than 180 people have been killed and over 1,800 people have been wounded, U.N Newsreported Monday, citing United Nations envoy Volker Perthes.

"The toll could be much higher because there are many bodies in the streets around central Khartoum that no one can reach because of the clashes," The Associated Pressreported. "There has been no official word on how many civilians or combatants have been killed. The [Sudan Doctors' Syndicate] earlier put the number of civilian deaths at 97."

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty's regional director for East and Southern Africa, said in a statement that "the use of heavy weaponry including artillery, tanks, and jet aircraft in densely populated areas in Khartoum has caused numerous civilian deaths and massive destruction of property."

"Civilians are caught in the middle of this conflict and are suffering," said Chagutah. "The parties to the conflict must immediately stop using explosive weapons with wide area effects in the vicinity of concentrations of civilians."

"Sudan's regional and international partners including the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), African Union, U.N., and others should publicly encourage that the parties to the conflict respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians," Chagutah continued. "Both parties must immediately stop their indiscriminate attacks."

He added that "Sudan's authorities and all parties to the conflict must ensure that there is immediate, unrestricted, and sustained access for humanitarian actors to monitor and assess the needs of civilians and to deliver assistance to them."

Combat broke out this past weekend following weeks of tensions between SAF commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chair of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council, and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or "Hemedti," the council's deputy chair.

The former allies joined forces to take control of Sudan in October 2021, two years after a 2019 military coup that came on the heels of a popular uprising ousted Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled Africa's third-largest country since leading the 1989 overthrow of a democratically elected government. But during recent negotiations for a new transitional government, a dispute arose over security force reform, turning al-Burhan and Dagalo—both of whom have extensive records of human rights abuses, including the brutal repression of pro-democracy activists—into rivals.

"The sudden explosion of violence over the weekend between the nation's two top generals, each backed by tens of thousands of fighters, trapped millions of people in their homes or wherever they could find shelter, with supplies running low in many areas," AP reported. "Even in a country with a long history of military coups, the scenes of fighting in the capital and its adjoining city Omdurman across the Nile River were unprecedented."

Amnesty on Monday urged the U.N. Security Council "to hold an emergency meeting on the situation in Sudan and publicly call on the SAF and RSF to protect civilians as a matter of priority."

According to AP, the council is "set to discuss the crisis" after "top diplomats on four continents scrambled to broker a truce."

Fears of a wider conflagration are mounting as the deadly power struggle spreads "across the sprawling western region of Darfur, where Mr. al-Bashir's government oversaw a campaign of genocidal violence beginning in 2003," The New York Times reported Sunday. "Reports of clashes in the region's major cities and several other towns are especially worrisome because Darfur is home to several heavily armed rebel groups that analysts fear could get sucked into the fight."

A third of Sudan's population—roughly 15 million people—suffer from hunger and rely on humanitarian assistance. However, the U.N.'s World Food Program was forced to halt operations in the country after three aid workers were killed and two others injured in Darfur on Saturday. In addition, the International Rescue Committee and Save the Children have both suspended most operations in the country.

Meanwhile, 12 out of around 20 hospitals in the capital area "have been 'forcefully evacuated' and are 'out of service' because of attacks or power outages," AP reported Monday, citing the Sudan Doctors' Syndicate. "Four other hospitals outside the capital have also shut down."

Citing the World Health Organization, U.N. News noted that "many of the nine hospitals in Khartoum receiving injured civilians are reporting shortages of blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids, medical supplies, and other lifesaving commodities."

In a Monday address, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres lamented that the country's "already precarious" humanitarian situation "is now catastrophic."

"I strongly condemn the outbreak of fighting that is taking place in Sudan, and appeal to the leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to immediately cease hostilities, restore calm, and begin a dialogue to resolve the crisis," said Guterres.

"The situation has already led to horrendous loss of life, including many civilians," the U.N. chief added. "Any further escalation could be devastating for the country and the region. I urge all those with influence over the situation to use it in the cause of peace; to support efforts to end the violence, restore order, and return to the path of transition."

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Kenny Stancil.

World leaders are advocating for a cease-fire in Sudan, where fighting between the African nation's military and a paramilitary group throughout the weekend—much of it in the capital, Khartoum—has left dozens of people dead and hundreds more injured.

"The battles have not stopped," Tahani Abass, a prominent rights advocate who lives near the military headquarters, toldThe Associated Press. "They are shooting against each other in the streets. It's an all-out war in residential areas."

Explaining how her family spent Saturday night huddled on the ground floor of their home, Abass added that "no one was able to sleep and the kids were crying and screaming with every explosion."

Over 50 civilians have been killed and nearly 600 people have been injured, the AP reported, citing the Sudan Doctors' Syndicate.

Sudan's current crisis began with massive street protests in 2018, which led to a military coup d'état the following year that ousted Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled for three decades after leading the 1989 overthrow of a democratically elected government. In October 2021, two top generals came together to seize control of the country.

The fighting that began Saturday is part of a power struggle between the formerly allied generals: Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who heads Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council and the Sudanese Armed Forces, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or "Hemedti," the council's deputy and commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Saturday that he "strongly condemns the outbreak of fighting" and "calls on the leaders of the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces to immediately cease hostilities, restore calm, and initiate a dialogue to resolve the current crisis."

"Any further escalation in the fighting will have a devastating impact on civilians and further aggravate the already precarious humanitarian situation in the country," the spokesperson warned, adding that the U.N. chief also "calls on member states in the region to support efforts to restore order and return to the path of transition."

The League of Arab States held an emergency meeting Sunday at the request of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Al Arabiya Englishreported that the group called for a cease-fire and peaceful negotiations to "establish a new phase that fulfills the ambitions of the brotherly Sudanese people and contributes to reinforce political and economic security and stability in this important country."

According to the news outlet:

During a televised speech, Sudan's representative to the Arab League, Alsadik Omar Abdullah, appealed for Arab support to help calm the situation, while emphasizing that external interference in local affairs should be avoided.

"The Sudanese government has declared it a rebel force to be treated as such," he said, adding that efforts to mediate the integration of RSF into the Army have failed.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that he spoke with the Saudi and Emirati foreign ministers about the fighting, "which threatens the security and safety of Sudanese civilians and undermines efforts to restore Sudan's democratic transition," and they all "agreed it was essential for the parties to immediately end hostilities without precondition."

Blinken urged al-Burhan and Dagalo "to take active measures to reduce tensions and ensure the safety of all civilians," stressing that "the only way forward is to return to negotiations that support the Sudanese people's democratic aspirations."

Along with the United States, Reutersnoted, "China, Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the U.N. Security Council, European Union, and African Union have appealed for a quick end to the hostilities that threaten to worsen instability in an already volatile wider region."

As The New York Times detailed:

There were signs that fighting was spreading across the sprawling western region of Darfur, where Mr. al-Bashir's government oversaw a campaign of genocidal violence beginning in 2003. Reports of clashes in the region's major cities and several other towns are especially worrisome because Darfur is home to several heavily armed rebel groups that analysts fear could get sucked into the fight.

Adam Regal, a spokesperson for the aid agency General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur, told the Times that a dozen people were killed and wounded Saturday in a camp for displaced people in the North Darfur region.

"The security situation, in my estimation, is difficult and dangerous," Regal said in a text message, referencing clashes in the cities of El Fasher in North Darfur, Zalingei in Central Darfur, Nyala in South Darfur.

Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program, which is part of the United Nations, said Sunday that "I am appalled and heartbroken by the tragic deaths of three WFP employees on Saturday... in Kabkabiya, North Darfur while carrying out their lifesaving duties on the frontlines of the global hunger crisis. Two WFP employees were also injured in the same incident."

After noting that a U.N. aircraft was "significantly damaged" in Khartoum Saturday, "seriously impacting WFP's ability to move humanitarian workers and aid within the country," McCain announced that "while we review the evolving security situation, we are forced to temporarily halt all operations in Sudan. WFP is committed to assisting the Sudanese people facing dire food insecurity, but we cannot do our lifesaving work if the safety and security of our teams and partners is not guaranteed."

The U.N. chief "remains deeply concerned about the continued clashes" and "strongly condemns the deaths and injuries of civilians," including the WFP staff, his spokesperson said Sunday, declaring that "those responsible should be brought to justice without delay."

"The secretary-general reminds the parties of the need to respect international law, including the obligation to ensure the safety and security of all United Nations and associated personnel, their premises, and their assets," the spokesperson continued, adding that Guterres "reiterates his call for the immediate halt to the fighting and for a return to dialogue."

Volker Perthes, the U.N. envoy for Sudan, confirmed Sunday that al-Burhan and Dagalo had committed to "a temporary pause in fighting on humanitarian grounds" for three hours in the evening. However, the AP reported that in Khartoum, "as night fell, residents reported heavy explosions and continued gunfire."

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Jessica Corbett.

The global climate meeting called COP27 (the 27th Conference of Parties) will be held in the remote Egyptian desert resort of Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt from November 6-18. Given the extremely repressive nature of the Egyptian government, this gathering will likely be different from others, where there have been large, raucous protests led by civil society groups.

So as tens of thousands of delegates—from world leaders to climate activists and journalists—descend on Sharm el-Sheik from all over the world, we asked Egyptian Journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous to give us his thoughts about the state of Egypt today, including the situation of political prisoners, and how he expects the Egyptian government will act with the eyes of the world upon it.

MB: For those who don't know or have forgotten, can you give us a quick overview of the nature of the present government in Egypt today?

The 2011 revolution against Hosni Mubarak, an uprising that was part of what has been called the Arab Spring, was very inspiring and had reverberations around the world, from the Occupy Movement in the United States to the Indignados in Spain. But that revolution was crushed in a very brutal way in 2013 by the military, led by General Abdel Fattah al Sisi–who later became president.

Right now, Egypt is ruled by a very tight and closed clique of military and intelligence officers, a circle that is completely opaque. Its decision-making process does not allow for any political participation and it does not brook any kind of dissent or opposition. It seems that the government's answer to any problems with its citizens is to put them in prison.

There are literally tens of thousands of political prisoners in Egypt right now. We don't know the exact number because there are no official statistics and this forces lawyers and the very harassed human rights groups to try to painstakingly tabulate the thousands of people who are trapped behind bars.

Over the past few years, we've seen Egypt build several new prisons. Just last year Sisi oversaw the opening of the Wadi al-Natrun prison complex. It's not called a prison complex, it's called a "rehabilitation center." This is one of seven or eight new prisons that Sisi himself has dubbed "American-style prisons."

These prison complexes include within them the courts and judicial buildings, so it makes a conveyor belt from the courthouse to the prison more efficient.

MB: What is the status of this massive group of political prisoners?

The majority of political prisoners in Egypt are held in what is called "pre-trial detention." Under Egypt's penal code, you can be held in prison for two years without ever being convicted of a crime. Nearly everyone held in pre-trial detention faces two identical charges: one is spreading false information and the other is belonging to a terrorist organization or an outlawed organization.

The prison conditions are very dire. If you get sick, you are in big trouble. There have been a lot of deaths from medical negligence, with prisoners dying in custody. Torture and other forms of abuse by security forces is widespread.

We've also seen the number of death sentences and executions skyrocket. Under the former President Mubarak, in his final decade in office, there was a de facto moratorium on executions. There were death sentences handed down but people were not being put to death. Now Egypt ranks third in the world in the number of executions.

MB: What about other freedoms, such as freedom of assembly and freedom of the press?

Basically, the regime sees its citizens as a nuisance or a threat. All forms of protest or public assembly are banned.

Alleged violations carry very stiff prison sentences. We've seen mass arrests sweeps happen whenever there's any kind of public demonstration and we've also seen an unprecedented crackdown on civil society, with human rights organizations and economic justice organizations being forced to scale back their operations or basically operate underground.The people who work for them are subject to intimidation and harassment and travel bans and arrests.

We've also seen a massive crackdown on press freedom, a nearly complete takeover of the media landscape. Under Mubarak's government, there was at least some opposition press, including some opposition newspapers and TV stations. But now the government very tightly controls the press through censorship and also through acquisition. The General Intelligence Services, which is the intelligence apparatus of the military, has become the largest media owner of the country. They own newspapers and TV channels. Independent media, such as the one I work for called Mada Masr, operate on the margins in a very, very hostile environment.

Egypt is the third largest jailer of journalists in the world and imprisons more journalists on charges of spreading false news than any other country in the world.

MB: Can you talk about the case of Alaa Abd El-Fattah, who is probably Egypt's most famous political prisoner?

Alaa has been behind bars for much of the last decade. He is in prison ostensibly for the crime of "spreading false news," but he is really in prison for these ideas, for being an icon and a symbol of the 2011 revolution. For the regime, imprisoning him was a way to set an example for everyone else. That's why there has been so much campaigning to get him out.

He has been in prison under very, very difficult conditions. For two years he wasn't allowed out of his cell and didn't even have a mattress to sleep on. He was completely deprived of everything, including books or reading materials of any kind. For the first time, he started expressing suicidal thoughts.

But on April 2 he decided to go on a hunger strike as an act of resistance against his imprisonment. He has been on a hunger strike for seven months now. He started with just water and salt, which is a kind of hunger strike that Egyptians learned from Palestinians. Then in May, he decided to go on a Gandhi-style strike and ingest 100 calories a day–which is a spoonful of honey in some tea. An average adult needs 2,000 calories a day, so it's very meager.

But he just sent a letter to his family saying that he was going back to a full hunger strike and on November 6, on the eve of the COP meeting, he's going to stop drinking water. This is extremely serious because the body cannot last without water for more than a few days.

So he is calling on all of us on the outside to organize, because either he will die in prison or he will be released. What he is doing is incredibly brave. He is using his body, the only thing he has agency over, to organize and to push us on the outside to do more.

How do these repressed civil society leaders view the fact that Egypt is playing host to COP27?

It was very disheartening for a lot of people in Egypt who work for human rights and justice and democracy when Egypt was granted the right to host the conference. But Egyptian civil society has not called on the international community to boycott the COP meeting; they have called for the plight of political prisoners and the lack of human rights to be linked to the climate discussions and not ignored.

They want a spotlight to be placed on the thousands of political prisoners like Alaa, like Abdel Moneim Aboul Foitouh, a former presidential candidate, like Mohamed Oxygen, a blogger, like Marwa Arafa, who is an activist from Alexandria.

Unfortunately, hosting this meeting has given the government a great opportunity to remake its image. It has allowed the government to try to position itself as the voice for the Global South and the negotiator trying to unlock billions of dollars a year in climate financing from the Global North.

Of course the issue of climate reparations to the Global South is very important. It needs to be discussed and taken seriously. But how can you give climate reparations to a country like Egypt when you know the money will mostly be spent on bolstering this repressive, polluting state? As Naomi Klein said in her great article Greenwashing a Police State, the summit is going beyond greenwashing a polluting state to greenwashing a police state.

So what do you think we can expect to see in Sharm el-Sheikh? Will the usual protests that happen at every COP, both inside and outside the official halls, be allowed?

I think what we are going to see in Sharm el-Sheik is a carefully managed theater. We all know the problems with the UN Climate Summits. There are a lot of negotiations and climate diplomacy, but rarely do they amount to anything concrete and binding. But they do serve as an important place for networking and convergence for different groups in the climate justice movement, an opportunity for them to come together to organize. It has also been a time for these groups to show their opposition to the inaction by those in power, with creative, vigorous protests both inside and outside the conference.

This will not be the case this year. Sharm El-Sheikh is a resort in Sinai that literally has a wall around it. It can and will be very tightly controlled. From what we understand, there is a special space that has been designated for protests that has been built out near a highway, far away from the conference center and any signs of life. So how effective will it be to hold protests there?

This is why people like Greta Thunberg are not going. Many activists have problems with the structure of the COP itself but it is even worse in Egypt where the ability to use it as a convergence space for dissent will be effectively shut down.

But more importantly, the members of Egyptian civil society, including the allies and environmental groups that are critical of the government, will not be allowed to attend. In a departure from UN rules, those groups that manage to participate will have been vetted and approved by the government and will have to be very careful about how they operate. Other Egyptians who should be there are unfortunately in prison or are subject to various forms of repression and harassment.

Should foreigners also worry about the Egyptian government surveilling them?

The entire conference will be very highly surveilled. The government created this app that you can download to use as a guide for the conference. But to do that, you have to put in your full name, phone number, email address, passport number and nationality, and you have to enable location tracking. Amnesty International technology specialists have reviewed the app and flagged all these concerns about surveillance and how the app can use the camera and microphone and location data and bluetooth.

What environmental issues related to Egypt will the government allow to be discussed, and what will be off limits?

Environmental issues that will be allowed are issues such as trash collection, recycling, renewable energy and climate finance, which is a big issue for Egypt and for the Global South.

Environmental issues that implicate the government and military will not be tolerated. Take the issue of coal–something the environmental community is very critical of. That will be off limits because coal imports, much of it coming from the United States, have risen over the past several years, driven by the strong demand from the cement sector. Egypt's largest importer of coal is also the largest cement producer, and that's the El-Arish Cement Company that was built in 2016 by none other than the Egyptian military.

We've seen massive amounts of cement poured into Egypt's natural environment over the past several years. The government has built nearly 1,000 bridges and tunnels, destroying acres and acres of green space and cutting down thousands of trees. They have gone on a crazy construction spree, building a slew of new neighborhoods and cities, including a new administrative capital in the desert just outside of Cairo. But no criticism of these projects has been or will be tolerated.

Then there is dirty energy production. Egypt, Africa's second largest gas producer, is scaling up its oil and gas production and exports, which will mean further profits for the military and intelligence sectors involved in this. These projects that are harmful to the environment but profitable for the military will be off the agenda.

The Egyptian military is entrenched in every part of the Egyptian state. Military owned enterprises produce everything from fertilizers to baby food to cement. They operate hotels; they are the largest owner of land in Egypt. So any kind of industrial pollution or environmental harm from areas such as construction, tourism, development and agribusiness will not be tolerated at COP.

We have heard that the crackdown on Egyptians in anticipation of this global gathering has already begun. Is that true?

Yes, we've already seen an intensified crackdown and a massive arrest sweep in the run-up to the climate summit. There are arbitrary stop and searches, and random security checkpoints. They open your facebook and whatsapp and they look through it. If they find content that they find problematic, they arrest you.

Hundreds of people have been arrested, by some counts 500-600. They have been arrested from their homes, off the streets, from their workplaces.

And these searches and arrests are not restricted just to Egyptians. The other day there was an Indian climate activist, Ajit Rajagopal, was arrested shortly after setting off on an 8-day walk from Cairo to Sharm el-Sheikh as part of a global campaign to raise awareness about the climate crisis.

He was detained in Cairo, questioned for hours and held overnight. He called an Egyptian lawyer friend, who came to the police station to help him. They detained the lawyer as well, and held him overnight.

There have been calls for protests on November 11, or 11/11. Do you think people in Egypt will come out on the streets?

It is unclear where these protest calls started but I think it was started by people outside Egypt. I would be surprised if people come out on the streets given the level of repression we've been seeing these days but you never know.

The security apparatus was very surprised in September 2019 when a former military contractor turned whistleblower exposed videos showing army corruption. These videos went viral. The whistleblower called for protests but he was outside Egypt in self-imposed exile in Spain.

There were some protests, not very big but significant. And what was the government response? Massive arrests, the most massive sweep since Sisi came to power with over 4,000 people detained. They arrested all kinds of people–everyone who had been arrested before and a lot of other people. With that kind of repression, it's hard to say if mobilizing people to go to the streets is the right thing to do.

The government is also particularly paranoid because the economic situation is so bad. The Egyptian currency has lost 30 percent of its value since the beginning of the year, precipitated by a variety of factors, including the war in Ukraine, since Egypt was getting so much of its wheat from Ukraine. Inflation is out of control. People are getting poorer and poorer. So that, combined with these calls for protests, have prompted the preemptive crackdown.

So I don't know if people will defy the government and go out into the streets. But I gave up trying to predict anything in Egypt a long time ago. You just never know what is going to happen.  

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community and was authored by Medea Benjamin.

The global climate meeting called COP27 (the 27th Conference of Parties) will be held in the remote Egyptian desert resort of Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt from November 6-18. Given the extremely repressive nature of the Egyptian government, this gathering will likely be different from others, where there have been large, raucous protests led by civil society groups.

So as tens of thousands of delegates – from world leaders to climate activists and journalists – descend on Sharm el-Sheik from all over the world, we asked Egyptian Journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous to give us his thoughts about the state of Egypt today, including the situation of political prisoners, and how he expects the Egyptian government will act with the eyes of the world upon it.

Medea Benjamin:  For those who don’t know or have forgotten, can you give us a quick overview of the nature of the present government in Egypt today? 

Sharif Abdel Kouddous: The 2011 revolution against Hosni Mubarak, an uprising that was part of what has been called the Arab Spring, was very inspiring and had reverberations around the world, from the Occupy Movement in the United States to the Indignados in Spain. But that revolution was crushed in a very brutal way in 2013 by the military, led by General Abdel Fattah al Sisi–who later became president.

Right now, Egypt is ruled by a very tight and closed clique of military and intelligence officers, a circle that is completely opaque. Its decision-making process does not allow for any political participation and it does not brook any kind of dissent or opposition. It seems that the government’s answer to any problems with its citizens is to put them in prison.

There are literally tens of thousands of political prisoners in Egypt right now. We don’t know the exact number because there are no official statistics and this forces lawyers and the very harassed human rights groups to try to painstakingly tabulate the thousands of people who are trapped behind bars.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen Egypt build several new prisons. Just last year Sisi oversaw the opening of the Wadi al-Natrun prison complex. It’s not called a prison complex, it’s called a “rehabilitation center.” This is one of seven or eight new prisons that Sisi himself has dubbed “American-style prisons.”

These prison complexes include within them the courts and judicial buildings, so it makes a conveyor belt from the courthouse to the prison more efficient.

MB: What is the status of this massive group of political prisoners? 

SAK: The majority of political prisoners in Egypt are held in what is called “pre-trial detention.” Under Egypt’s penal code, you can be held in prison for two years without ever being convicted of a crime. Nearly everyone held in pre-trial detention faces two identical charges: one is spreading false information and the other is belonging to a terrorist organization or an outlawed organization.

The prison conditions are very dire. If you get sick, you are in big trouble. There have been a lot of deaths from medical negligence, with prisoners dying in custody. Torture and other forms of abuse by security forces is widespread.

We’ve also seen the number of death sentences and executions skyrocket. Under the former President Mubarak, in his final decade in office, there was a de facto moratorium on executions. There were death sentences handed down but people were not being put to death. Now Egypt ranks third in the world in the number of executions.

MB: What about other freedoms, such as freedom of assembly and freedom of the press?

SAK: Basically, the regime sees its citizens as a nuisance or a threat. All forms of protest or public assembly are banned.

Alleged violations carry very stiff prison sentences. We’ve seen mass arrests sweeps happen whenever there’s any kind of public demonstration and we’ve also seen an unprecedented crackdown on civil society, with human rights organizations and economic justice organizations being forced to scale back their operations or basically operate underground.The people who work for them are subject to intimidation and harassment and travel bans and arrests.

We’ve also seen a massive crackdown on press freedom, a nearly complete takeover of the media landscape. Under Mubarak’s government, there was at least some opposition press, including some opposition newspapers and TV stations. But now the government very tightly controls the press through censorship and also through acquisition. The General Intelligence Services, which is the intelligence apparatus of the military, has become the largest media owner of the country. They own newspapers and TV channels. Independent media, such as the one I work for called Mada Masr, operate on the margins in a very, very hostile environment.

Egypt is the third largest jailer of journalists in the world and imprisons more journalists on charges of spreading false news than any other country in the world.

MB: Can you talk about the case of Alaa Abd El-Fattah, who is probably Egypt’s most famous political prisoner?

SAK: Alaa has been behind bars for much of the last decade. He is in prison ostensibly for the crime of “spreading false news,” but he is really in prison for these ideas, for being an icon and a symbol of the 2011 revolution. For the regime, imprisoning him was a way to set an example for everyone else. That’s why there has been so much campaigning to get him out.

He has been in prison under very, very difficult conditions. For two years he wasn’t allowed out of his cell and didn’t even have a mattress to sleep on. He was completely deprived of everything, including books or reading materials of any kind. For the first time, he started expressing suicidal thoughts.

But on April 2 he decided to go on a hunger strike as an act of resistance against his imprisonment. He has been on a hunger strike for seven months now. He started with just water and salt, which is a kind of hunger strike that Egyptians learned from Palestinians. Then in May, he decided to go on a Gandhi-style strike and ingest 100 calories a day–which is a spoonful of honey in some tea. An average adult needs 2,000 calories a day, so it’s very meager.

But he just sent a letter to his family saying that he was going back to a full hunger strike and on November 6, on the eve of the COP meeting, he’s going to stop drinking water. This is extremely serious because the body cannot last without water for more than a few days.

So he is calling on all of us on the outside to organize, because either he will die in prison or he will be released. What he is doing is incredibly brave. He is using his body, the only thing he has agency over, to organize and to push us on the outside to do more.

MB: How do these repressed civil society leaders view the fact that Egypt is playing host to COP27?

SAK: It was very disheartening for a lot of people in Egypt who work for human rights and justice and democracy when Egypt was granted the right to host the conference. But Egyptian civil society has not called on the international community to boycott the COP meeting; they have called for the plight of political prisoners and the lack of human rights to be linked to the climate discussions and not ignored.

They want a spotlight to be placed on the thousands of political prisoners like Alaa, like Abdel Moneim Aboul Foitouh, a former presidential candidate, like Mohamed Oxygen, a blogger, like Marwa Arafa, who is an activist from Alexandria.

Unfortunately, hosting this meeting has given the government a great opportunity to remake its image. It has allowed the government to try to position itself as the voice for the Global South and the negotiator trying to unlock billions of dollars a year in climate financing from the Global North.

Of course the issue of climate reparations to the Global South is very important. It needs to be discussed and taken seriously. But how can you give climate reparations to a country like Egypt when you know the money will mostly be spent on bolstering this repressive, polluting state? As Naomi Klein said in her great article Greenwashing a Police State, the summit is going beyond greenwashing a polluting state to greenwashing a police state.

MB: So what do you think we can expect to see in Sharm el-Sheikh? Will the usual protests that happen at every COP, both inside and outside the official halls, be allowed? 

SAK: I think what we are going to see in Sharm el-Sheik is a carefully managed theater. We all know the problems with the UN Climate Summits. There are a lot of negotiations and climate diplomacy, but rarely do they amount to anything concrete and binding. But they do serve as an important place for networking and convergence for different groups in the climate justice movement, an opportunity for them to come together to organize. It has also been a time for these groups to show their opposition to the inaction by those in power, with creative, vigorous protests both inside and outside the conference.

This will not be the case this year. Sharm El-Sheikh is a resort in Sinai that literally has a wall around it. It can and will be very tightly controlled. From what we understand, there is a special space that has been designated for protests that has been built out near a highway, far away from the conference center and any signs of life. So how effective will it be to hold protests there?

This is why people like Greta Thunberg are not going. Many activists have problems with the structure of the COP itself but it is even worse in Egypt where the ability to use it as a convergence space for dissent will be effectively shut down.

But more importantly, the members of Egyptian civil society, including the allies and environmental groups that are critical of the government, will not be allowed to attend. In a departure from UN rules, those groups that manage to participate will have been vetted and approved by the government and will have to be very careful about how they operate. Other Egyptians who should be there are unfortunately in prison or are subject to various forms of repression and harassment.

MB: Should foreigners also worry about the Egyptian government surveilling them?

SAK: The entire conference will be very highly surveilled. The government created this app that you can download to use as a guide for the conference. But to do that, you have to put in your full name, phone number, email address, passport number and nationality, and you have to enable location tracking. Amnesty International technology specialists have reviewed the app and flagged all these concerns about surveillance and how the app can use the camera and microphone and location data and bluetooth.

MB: What environmental issues related to Egypt will the government allow to be discussed, and what will be off limits?

SAK: Environmental issues that will be allowed are issues such as trash collection, recycling, renewable energy and climate finance, which is a big issue for Egypt and for the Global South.

Environmental issues that implicate the government and military will not be tolerated. Take the issue of coal–something the environmental community is very critical of. That will be off limits because coal imports, much of it coming from the United States, have risen over the past several years, driven by the strong demand from the cement sector. Egypt’s largest importer of coal is also the largest cement producer, and that’s the El-Arish Cement Company that was built in 2016 by none other than the Egyptian military.

We’ve seen massive amounts of cement poured into Egypt’s natural environment over the past several years. The government has built nearly 1,000 bridges and tunnels, destroying acres and acres of green space and cutting down thousands of trees. They have gone on a crazy construction spree, building a slew of new neighborhoods and cities, including a new administrative capital in the desert just outside of Cairo. But no criticism of these projects has been or will be tolerated.

Then there is dirty energy production. Egypt, Africa’s second largest gas producer, is scaling up its oil and gas production and exports, which will mean further profits for the military and intelligence sectors involved in this. These projects that are harmful to the environment but profitable for the military will be off the agenda.

The Egyptian military is entrenched in every part of the Egyptian state. Military owned enterprises produce everything from fertilizers to baby food to cement. They operate hotels; they are the largest owner of land in Egypt. So any kind of industrial pollution or environmental harm from areas such as construction, tourism, development and agribusiness will not be tolerated at COP.

MB: We have heard that the crackdown on Egyptians in anticipation of this global gathering has already begun. Is that true? 

SAK: Yes, we’ve already seen an intensified crackdown and a massive arrest sweep in the run-up to the climate summit. There are arbitrary stop and searches, and random security checkpoints. They open your facebook and whatsapp and they look through it. If they find content that they find problematic, they arrest you.

Hundreds of people have been arrested, by some counts 500-600. They have been arrested from their homes, off the streets, from their workplaces.

And these searches and arrests are not restricted just to Egyptians. The other day there was an Indian climate activist, Ajit Rajagopal, was arrested shortly after setting off on an 8-day walk from Cairo to Sharm el-Sheikh as part of a global campaign to raise awareness about the climate crisis.

He was detained in Cairo, questioned for hours and held overnight. He called an Egyptian lawyer friend, who came to the police station to help him. They detained the lawyer as well, and held him overnight.

MB: There have been calls for protests on November 11, or 11/11. Do you think people in Egypt will come out on the streets? 

SAK: It is unclear where these protest calls started but I think it was started by people outside Egypt. I would be surprised if people come out on the streets given the level of repression we’ve been seeing these days but you never know.

The security apparatus was very surprised in September 2019 when a former military contractor turned whistleblower exposed videos showing army corruption. These videos went viral. The whistleblower called for protests but he was outside Egypt in self-imposed exile in Spain.

There were some protests, not very big but significant. And what was the government response? Massive arrests, the most massive sweep since Sisi came to power with over 4,000 people detained. They arrested all kinds of people–everyone who had been arrested before and a lot of other people. With that kind of repression, it’s hard to say if mobilizing people to go to the streets is the right thing to do.

The government is also particularly paranoid because the economic situation is so bad. The Egyptian currency has lost 30 percent of its value since the beginning of the year, precipitated by a variety of factors, including the war in Ukraine, since Egypt was getting so much of its wheat from Ukraine. Inflation is out of control. People are getting poorer and poorer. So that, combined with these calls for protests, have prompted the preemptive crackdown.

So I don’t know if people will defy the government and go out into the streets. But I gave up trying to predict anything in Egypt a long time ago. You just never know what is going to happen.

This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Medea Benjamin.

The post What to Expect from COP27 in Egypt’s Police State: An Interview With Sharif Abdel Kouddous appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Medea Benjamin.