CAIRO: Two leading Egyptian journalists have been called in for questioning by the country's military rulers after they published an article discussing human rights abuses in the country. It is the most recent attempt by the military to silence any opposition coming from Egyptian media. In late May. Hossam al-Hamalawy, a leading blogger and social activist, was at the center of a controversy and sparked local and international worries over the course of military action against freedom of expression. He was questioned by the head of the military justice authority Adel Morsi, and said after the meeting that the army had requested he provide all documents in his possession pertaining to violations Hamalawy said on the television program “Baladna mil Masry.” The host of that show, Reem Maged, and another journalist who appeared on the program separately Nabil Sharifeddine, were also interrogated in order to “clarify” statements made on air. Local and international rights groups have reported that the military is continuing to commit torture and arbitrary arrests in the country. According to the military's own admission, more than 7,000 people have been detained since the former regime was ousted on February 11. Rasha Azab of the independent weekly al-Fagr and the weekly's editor-in-chief, Adel Hammouda, were told Saturday to appear before the military prosecutor. Azab wrote about a meeting between members of Egypt's military council and a group of activists, in which they discussed allegations of torture and abuse in post-uprising Egypt. In March, Azab was briefly detained and beaten by the military. This has led to a state of fear and anxiety among journalists in the country. Reporters and local media are wary of the military's heavy hand being brought down upon journalists. A number of reporters have told Bikya Masr that the current state of affairs reminds them of the era of former President Hosni Mubarak, who brought a number of critics to trial over what they had written and published, even imprisoning bloggers. “We've see this all before and it appears to be the same tactics, albeit with a nice ‘let's talk' attitude, but this needs to change or we risk a lot of damage to our freedom of expression,” one reporter said, asking that their name not be revealed. BM
