Egypt's Journalists Syndicate was informed by the interior ministry that imprisoned journalists will receive all needed medical treatment, head of the syndicate's freedom committee Khaled El-Balshy said on Monday, hours after a strike was staged by journalists to protest the "mistreatment" of their jailed colleagues. El-Balshy told Ahram Online earlier on Monday that there are a number of violations being committed against jailed journalists, and that some "colleagues' lives are in danger" over their respective medical conditions. He later said on his Facebook page that jailed journalists Youssef Shabaan and Hani Salah El-Din were taken to public hospitals to receive treatment, and that the interior ministry allowed the families of another two, Hisham Gaafar and Hossam El-Sayed, to visit them. El-Balashy also said that an urgent meeting will soon take place with interior minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar. At least 30 journalists are currently imprisoned or detained pending trial on various felony and misdemeanor charges. On Saturday, the Journalists Syndicate released a press statement detailing the alleged mistreatment of journalists at El-Aqrab prison, which is notorious for the alleged abuse of inmates. The syndicate called for an official inquiry into reported violations against imprisoned journalists. It also demanded more humane jail conditions, appropriate medical care and family visits. The syndicate will hold an emergency general assembly meeting on 4 March to press these demands and discuss what it describes as "attacks on press freedoms." The Egyptian government has repeatedly denied that jailed journalists have been arrested or detained as a result of their journalistic work. The authorities have also denied what rights activists describe as systematic violations against inmates inside Egypt's prisons. source: Ahram Online
