CAIRO // Egypt’s journalists’ syndicate on Monday called for the dismissal of the interior minister and an immediate sit-in at its headquarters in downtown Cairo, to protest the police detention of two journalists on its premises the night earlier.
The group has called for the sit-in to continue through World Press Freedom day on Tuesday and a general assembly meeting on Wednesday.
Dozens gathered at the steps of the building on Monday, chanting “journalists are not terrorists”, and were planning for a larger demonstration later in the day.
The syndicate described the police’s entry into the building as a “raid by security forces whose blatant barbarism and aggression on the dignity of the press and journalists and their syndicate has surprised the journalistic community and the Egyptian people.” Some syndicate members have said the raid was heavy-handed, involving dozens of officers and resulted in a security guard being injured.
Police denied they entered the building by force and said only eight officers were involved, who they said were acting on an arrest warrant for the two journalists — accused of organising protests to destabilise the country. Unauthorised demonstrations in Egypt are banned, and demonstrators subject to arrest.
“The ministry of interior affirms that it did not raid the syndicate or use any kind of force in arresting the two, who turned themselves in as soon as they were told of the arrest warrant,” the ministry said.
The two journalists, Amr Badr and Mahmoud El Sakka, are government critics who work for a website known as January Gate, also critical of president Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s government.
It was unclear what size any sit-in at the syndicate could achieve. Police, backed by army troops, on Monday had initially barricaded the entire area and prevented people from approaching the building, but they eventually lifted the blockade. Still hundreds of uniformed and undercover police were deployed across central Cairo to prevent any protests.* Associated Press
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
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Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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