This statement was originally published on anhri.info on 17 July 2019.
Due to the almost complete control the state, its apparatus and “the affiliated or state-backed companies” have over the media in Egypt, there is no longer any room for expressing opinions or criticism, except through social networking websites, most notably Facebook.
Therefore, it follows that Facebook has become the website that is most kept under control and surveillance by the government, and the website whose users are facing the greatest police prosecution; as they are punished for their criticisms and comments and for expressing their views.
This was addressed in a report released today by the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) under the title “Mutual hostility, Facebook and the Egyptian government… On prosecution and detention because of a post”. The report includes samples and examples of opinion-related cases filed against Facebook users for using their right to express their views or criticize the country’s general situation and the government’s practices in Egypt – this has led to most prisoners of conscience in Egypt being victims of a prosecution due to a Facebook post or comment.
This brief report includes 15 examples of cases of detention against Facebook users, in which they are punished with prosecution, receiving threats and protracted pretrial detention, and even with imprisonment for many years. Such a matter constitutes a continuation of the country of fear created by the regime, and an attempt to crack down on the last scope for freedom of expression; which is “Facebook”, after the state and its apparatus have seized control of the traditional media.
For the full report please follow the following links:
Mutual hostility: Facebook and the Egyptian government
The post Facebook is the most surveilled website in Egypt appeared first on IFEX.
Source: MEDIA FEED
