Mostafa al-Asar’s lawyer said he had barely started work on a documentary critical of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi when police arrested him and charged him with publishing “fake news.”
The journalist was detained before he had even begun filming, his lawyer said. The government did not respond to requests for comment.
The arrest on February 4 came ahead of a presidential election later this month which Sisi is virtually guaranteed to win. All opposition candidates except one have dropped out citing intimidation, while the remaining challenger has said he supports the president.
The election commission says it has been receptive to any complaints and the vote will be fair and transparent.
As the March 26-28 election nears, Egypt has turned its attention to news outlets and journalists it accuses of spreading lies, including some foreign media and even one pro-government commentator.
Authorities say curbing fictitious news is necessary for national security. They regularly accuse outlets of a lack of professionalism in covering Egypt and urge reporters to use only official outlets as sources.
Egyptian prosecutors have long urged that critical outlets should be silenced. Authorities have now gone further, with the public prosecutor calling for legal action over what he deems fake news, saying the “forces of evil” are undermining the Egyptian state.
Makram Mohammed Ahmed, head of Egypt’s Supreme Media Council, a state media regulator, voiced concerns about media standards.
“I no longer believe that there’s an independent press, or that there’s professionalism … there is a lack of accuracy, whether in Egyptian papers or the foreign press,” he told Reuters.
Rights groups such as the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) and the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms say the charge of publishing false news is intended to rein in dissent, targeting journalists, politicians and even pop stars.
The public prosecutor this week announced telephone hotlines for citizens to report “news relying on lies and rumours.”
Sisi weighed in on March 1, saying that anyone who insults the army or police – and by extension himself as commander in chief – is guilty of treason.
His words prompted lawmakers to consider new legislation that would jail such offenders for up to three years, according to pro-government media.
