Journalists become the story in Egypt
International and social media coverage may have resulted in improved prison conditions for detained journalists.
CAIRO — In his second letter penned from an Egyptian prison, Australian journalist Peter Greste wrote, “Journalists are never supposed to become the story.” But due to unrelenting pressure by family members and supporters, he and colleagues netted in the state’s crackdown on the media have become an international story — which appears to be helping to improve their treatment in prison.
“The conditions that they are being held in now are much better than before. Definitely a result of foreign media pressure,” tweeted the family members of Greste’s detained colleague, Mohamed Fahmy, from his Twitter account on Feb. 5.
Greste, Fahmy and their Al Jazeera English colleague Baher Mohamed were among 20 defendants (mostly Al Jazeera personnel) referred to trial on charges of aiding or joining a terrorist group and threatening national security. The prosecutor's statement accused the three of manipulating video footage “to produce unreal scenes to suggest abroad that the country is undergoing a civil war.”
A campaign first begun in Kenya to support Greste and other detained journalists in Egypt is growing daily, expounding the message that “journalism is not terrorism.” Supporters across the world are sharing photos with their mouths taped shut, holding handwritten signs with the hashtag #FreeAJStaff.
