CAIRO: Media rights group Reporters Without Borders has advised media outlets to stop sending female reporters to Tahrir Square, in light of continued reports of sexual violence against female reporters covering unrest in the square. The announcement came after French journalist Caroline Sinz came forward as the third female journalist to report an attack and sexual assault in the square since the beginning of the Egyptian revolution. “We were hit, and then separated. Very few women, especially foreign, are in Tahrir Square. I was grabbed by several men and I suffered a sexual assault in front of everyone in full daylight. Other women journalists were physically attacked. It is a way to intimidate the press,” Euronews quoted Sinz as saying. “This is at least the third time a woman reporter has been sexually assaulted since the start of the Egyptian revolution. Media should take this into account and for the time being stop sending female journalists to cover the situation in Egypt. It is unfortunate that we have come to this but, given the violence of these assaults, there is no other solution,” said the group's statement, issued on Thursday. Likewise, award-winning Egyptian columnist Mona el-Tahawy recounted on her personal Twitter account a sexual assault she suffered at the hands of the Egyptian police after she was detained for nearly 12 hours on Thursday morning in Cairo. Reporters Without Borders on Thursday condemned working conditions for journalists reporting on the uprisings generally, as 17 cases of attacks against journalists have been documented since conflict intensified last Saturday. “Journalists are now the unwanted witnesses of the army's desperate attempts to hold on to power and Reporters Without Borders fears that the abuses against media personnel could worsen,” the organization said in a official statement. Many are concerned over the continued suppression of the freedom of speech in Egypt, and the use of violence against journalists as an intimidation tactic. For months, the ruling military council has summoned journalists and bloggers for questioning about their writings and broadcasts. BM
