As Egypt Tortures Journalists, Akhbar El Yom Absent, Ban Breaks Rules For Them

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, October 3 -- As the Egyptian government steps up its crackdown on the media, expelling Liliane Daoud after arresting Yahia Galash, the Sisi-supporting media has stayed quiet or participated.

Now, "Three journalists who were arrested last week on charges of spreading false news have been subjected to torture while in detention, according to their lawyer Fatma Serag. Journalists Osama al-Bishbishi, Mohamed Hassan and Hamdy Mokhtar, who work with different privately-owned news outlets, were reportedly filming near the Journalists' Syndicate in Downtown Cairo when security forces arrested them on September 26. Serag said the journalists told her they were subjected to torture by security forces. The defendants told prosecutors during the interrogation on September 27 that they were beaten and electrocuted while in custody,' Serag said."

What does Egyptian state media Akhbar el Yom say?

Outgoing, Press-UNfriendly UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is giving the long time office of Inner City Press to this Egyptian state media whose Sanaa Youssef rarely comes to the UN and never asks questions.  On October 3 when Next SG candidate Kristalina Georgieva was interviewed, and the new UN Security Council president took questions, Akhbar al Yom was nowhere to be seen. This is corruption.

Ban's UN is violating its own stated rules, for a former president of UNCA, formally the UN Correspondents Association now the UN's Censorship Alliance. CPJ was informed of this, and of the ouster and eviction of the Press from the UN as it covered the UN corruption and nepotism story - including Ban Ki-mon giving his own son in law the top UN job in Kenya without recusal - and has done... nothing.

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