ANHRI’s Report on the Freedom of Expression During Mohamed Morsi’s Rule

Cairo October 4, 2012

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information “ANHRI” exposes the absence of the regime’s political will in Egypt, under the rule of the first civilian-elect president, to respect the freedom of opinion, expression and freedom of the press after three months of Morsi’s rule. Egypt had experienced most of the violations against the freedom of expression, with its all branches, starting from the physical assaults against the critics and media-staff, legal prosecution, Hisbah cases and censorship and confiscation. Such violations arouses a lot of huge concerns regarding the future of the freedom of expression and democracy in the near future.

Despite that Dr. Mohamed Morsi did not guarantee the freedom of expression or the freedom of the press among the issues of which he promised in the first 100 days of his rule, but we know and understand that. Such understand stems from that the freedom of expression needs a long time to reconsider the importance of it. In particularly, after long years of the tyrant military rule or its a value considered by the Islamic trend, of which Morsi belongs to, as a synonymous with insolence and insult to the leaders and the rulers of the country.

Therefore, the report issued today entitled (we do not hostile or care about it: Freedom of Expression in the Rule of the First Civilian-elect President, After Three Months).
It cares primarily, despite it monitors some of the violations against freedom of expression, about
search for any indicator or evidence related to the availability of the political will to respect the freedom or expression and the freedom of the press. ANHRI did not found any of these indicators or evidences.

Today and before the first end of the 100 days of Morsi, as the first civilian-elect president after the popular revolution that was respected by all over the globe, we found ourselves in the position, with deep sorrow, to declare that what have conducted against freedom of expression does not need time to wait more, but it needs to set the alarm strongly and quickly!!

Freedom of expression, with all of its branches, is in danger in Egypt;
cases, physical assaults, confiscation, censorship, Hisbah and blockade to creativity!!

Egypt had witnessed all kinds of violations. As any progress, development in the standard of living of the citizen or protecting his civil and political rights will be counted in the favor of the president so any deterioration or violation will be counted against the president as well. The serious violations suffered by the writers, journalists and critics will be counted against the Morsi and declare the absence of the political will to respect these rights; freedom of expression on the top of it.

The report includes 43 violations; (12 censorships and banning articles, 6 confiscations and cancellations, 5 assaults on journalists and critics, 8 legal prosecutions, 7 political Hisbah cases, 4 religious contempt cases and censorship monitoring the artistic creativity).

ANHRI says that despite the absence of the political will to respect the freedom of expression but several writers and journalists were ready, as usual, to pay the price of the freedom of expression and press. As such a case is a community issue no just an issue related to the journalists and writers. Their exercise to the freedom of expression, despite the stringent restrictions and the dangerous they suffer, indicates to some of the unspecialized the existence of freedom margin.

So it is a must to greet them for their determination to make the freedom of expression tangible not a far-fetched request.