"The incident is true and at the very least the interior minister
has to be fired and there needs to be an apology," Khalid al-Balshy
Egyptian
journalists hold up their cameras outside the Egyptian Press Syndicate
in downtown Cairo, Egypt April 28, 2016, during a protest against the
interior minister following the arrest of colleagues for covering
anti-government demonstrations.
Egyptian police on Sunday raided the press syndicate in Cairo
and arrested two journalists critical of the government, a syndicate
official and reporters said in what the syndicate called an
unprecedented crackdown.
The interior ministry
denied officers had stormed the press labour union building, a
traditional spot in downtown Cairo to stage protests, but confirmed some
of its members had arrested the journalists inside the syndicate.
Security forces have sought to quell dissent since thousands took to the streets on April 15 to protest a decision by President Abdel Fattah Sisi to hand over two islands to Saudi Arabia. Police dispersed smaller protests two weeks later.
On
Sunday, journalists held a sit-in inside the union when officers
arrested two of them working for the opposition website Bawabet Yanayer
including its editor, syndicate officials said.
"The incident is true and at the very least the interior minister has to be fired and there needs to be an apology," Khalid al-Balshy, a syndicate board member told Reuters.
Mahmoud
Kamel, a member of the syndicate board, said over 40 policemen raided
the building but the interior ministry said its force consisted of only
eight officers.
"The ministry affirms that it
did not raid the syndicate or use any kind of force in arresting the two
journalists who handed themselves in as soon as they were told there
was an arrest warrant," the interior ministry said in a statement.
A security guard was wounded in the eye when police raided the union, Kamel said.
"There
was an arrest warrant for the two journalists issued a week ago but the
syndicate was negotiating with the interior ministry over the matter," he said.
The
syndicate council called for an indefinite strike among Egyptian
journalists until the interior minister resigns and urged newspapers to
black out their front pages.
"This is unprecedented, no president or prime minister or interior minister has ever dared to do something like this,"
Kamel said. Under the law only a prosecutor is allowed to search the
union in the presence of its chairman or deputy, he added.
Dozens of journalists later held a new sit-in at the syndicate to protest against the arrest, a reporter said.
Sisi
faces criticism for putting the uninhabited Red Sea islands of Tiran
and Sanafir in Saudi waters and a faltering economy though there are no
signs that his rule is under threat.
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