Egyptian Journalists Syndicate’s head calls for release of reporters detained pretrial as his term ends

CAIRO – 20 February 2023: Head of Egypt’s Journalists Syndicate Diaa Rashwan has called for the Public Prosecution to release the journalists who are still detained pretrial as his second term is drawing to a close.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Rashwan called for the prosecution to release the journalists, who are members of the syndicate, under any guarantee.

"This is a petition that the syndicate resent a few days ago to the esteemed public prosecutor," Rashwan wrote.

Rashwan posted the names of 50 journalists who have been released during his four-year tenure, including 32 syndicate members and 18 members who are not part of the syndicate.

Among the names are prominent journalists Hisham Fouad and Hossam Mones. Fouad was released as per a presidential pardon in July last year, while Mones was pardoned in April.

Rashwan has frequently called for the release of journalists who have been held in pretrial detention over the past years.

The Egyptian authorities have released hundreds of pretrial detainees and pardoned several others, including prominent figures, since President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced launching the National Dialogue last April.

Rashwan is the National Coordinator of the National Dialogue, which aims to create a platform for discussions between the decision makers and political forces to reach a mutual understanding on priority issues.

Sisi also announced in April the reactivation of the Presidential Pardon Committee, originally formed in 2016, in April.

Syndicate elections

The committee overseeing the mid-term elections of the Journalists Syndicate announced on Monday closing the door for candidacy for the March 2023 elections.

A total of 11 candidates are competing to head the syndicate and 40 members are competing to become board members.

Candidates to fill the seat of the head of the syndicate include renowned journalists Khaled Miri, Khaled El-Balshi, Sayed El-Eskandrani, Ayman Abdel Aziz, Sayed Abdel Malek, Talaat Hashem, Abdo Maghrabi, Mohsen Hashem, Mohamed Maghrabi, Noura Rashed, and Yasser Ismail.