Can Egypt’s leaders be pressured into protecting press freedom?
Al Jazeera condemns the 15-year jail sentence given to its journalist for interviewing an opposition leader.
Al Jazeera Media Network has condemned the 15-year jail sentence given in Egypt to one of its journalists.
A court in Cairo sentenced Ahmed Taha in his absence for what prosecutors called “spreading false news”.
He was charged for interviewing Egyptian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh four years ago.
Al Jazeera says the verdict was irrational, unjustified, and part of Egypt’s continued campaign against the network and its journalists.
Other Al Jazeera journalists have been targeted and detained in Egypt.
In its press freedom index, Reporters Without Borders ranks Egypt 168th out of 180 countries.
So, why is Egypt silencing critical voices?
Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom
Guests:
Ahmed Taha – Al Jazeera presenter
Sherif Mansour – Middle East and North Africa programme coordinator, Committee to Protect Journalists
Hussein Baoumi – Egypt and Libya researcher, Amnesty International
Mohamad Elmasry – Chair of the Journalism Programme, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies