CAIRO (Update 5) - In the wake of the serious assault on Egyptian journalist Sarhan Senary of Al-Akhbar newspaper, one of several assaults on journalists covering the demonstrations in Tahrir Square and other places in Egypt, the Press Syndicate at a meeting denounced the violence and launched a campaign entitled, ‘Egyptian Journalists' Safety… a Red Line'. Senary was assaulted by policemen from Alexandria Directorate while covering the demonstrations in Alexandria. Because of the assaults, Egyptian journalists have lost confidence in the current Government and Interior Ministry, especially as the revolution should have led to greater freedom of expression and the right to exchange information without restriction from the ruling body. In a statement published Wednesday, the Press Syndicate said that Senary was forced to take off his clothes, before being severely beaten, even though he showed police his ID, which states that he is a journalist. The statement added the journalist was forced to repeat offensive words by the policemen from Alexandria Directorate. According to the same statement, the Press Syndicate denounced the violence that was also meted out on other journalists, photojournalists and correspondents, describing this as an organised crime and terrorism against the freedom of expression. The huge protests in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, Ismailiya and Port Said started last Friday, with demonstrators calling for the transfer of power from the military to civilians. Twenty-five journalists, including Ahmed Abdel-Fattah, a photojournalist with Al-Masry Al-Youm independent daily, Sami el-Awami, who works for Al-Gomhuria newspaper, and Rasha Azab, who writes for Al-Fagr daily, were hit on the head or shot in the eyes by security forces, while covering the demonstrations. "I wonder why journalists are being assaulted. They do not enjoy their rights, while it seems that no action is being taken against the policemen who assault them," an Egyptian journalist who works for Ayamna newspaper said at the meeting, during which the rules governing the work of journalists in the imminent parliamentary elections were also discussed. According to Abeer Saadi, a senior Press Syndicate member, about 95 journalists have been killed around the world so far this year, 22 of them while covering the Arab Spring events. Hundreds more have been injured. The Press Syndicate campaign comes in the wake of the ‘International Day to End Impunity', whose purpose was to highlight the failure of many countries to investigate the murders of journalists. Meanwhile, journalists here are feeling afraid in anticipation of next Monday's parliamentary elections. A number of human rights experts have called for journalists to commit themselves to their code of ethics while covering the elections, so as not to give anyone an excuse to assault them while they are doing their job. Ihab Salama, a legal expert, says that, according to Law 12 of 1996, a journalist is entitled to cover the elections and other sensitive events, provided he has a Press Syndicate ID and an appropriate letter from his editor-in-chief. He added that journalists should not be treated as an isolated category, as they play a great role in ‘supervising' the elections. "International law and the Egyptian Constitution give journalists the right to obtain and exchange information without any restrictions," Salama explained, stressing that an assault on a journalist is an assault on an employee while doing his job.
