Journalism Is Not a Crime

An Update About Shawkan

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

Update, October 19, 2016: Earlier today, Mehmet Abu Zeid, brother of Mahmoud Abou Zeid, the Egyptian photographer known as “Shawkan,” reported that when he visited the jail where his brother is being held, he was informed that his brother is not at the jail.

Mehmet informed my contact that he is at present waiting to be contacted by jail authorities and anticipating information regarding Shawkan’s current whereabouts and condition.

Speculation about this situation is rampant because speculation is easy. Is there any meaning behind this move? Quite probably. Is it good news or bad news? No one yet knows, but individuals close to Shawkan are pursuing the truth today, and I am making efforts to learn what they have learned and report it here.
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Justice Delayed for Photographer Shawkan

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

In a court hearing in Cairo, Egypt, earlier today, the trial of the photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid (“Shawkan”) and the 738 other defendants in the “Rabaa dispersal” case was adjourned once again, this time until November 1. This means he will spend his fourth consecutive birthday in jail; he turns 29 on October 10.

A similar reason to one given by the court in the past was given today: its judges are examining video evidence. Also, one defendant who has cancer was released today after confirming his home address.

The photo above, of Shawkan in court, is from today. Anyone can see that the waiting is wearying. The trial is trial enough for Shawkan, who is a photojournalist who was arrested in a general roundup of a protest in August 2013. He was a credentialed reporter covering the story of the protest and the crackdown and was arrested in the general chaos of the roundup. He should have been released by the Egyptian authorities within days when they realized what they had done, and his name should not be leading the litany of names of reporters who were arrested for doing their job in recent years.

But more than three years later, Shawkan still sits in prison, sometimes in solitary confinement, and he awaits each new, now monthly, delay in the delivery of any news, any change in status, any justice.
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Shawkan’s Endless Nightmare

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

When a trial involves more than 700 co-defendants, a person learns quickly that one’s previous understanding of terms like “due process” (as it applies to any nation’s justice system) must be modified or redefined altogether. In a court hearing in Cairo, Egypt, earlier today,the trial of the photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid (“Shawkan”) and the 738 other defendants in the “Rabaa dispersal” case was delayed yet again, this time until October 8.

One of Shawkan’s lawyers reported that the reason cited for the new adjournment was the length of time it is taking the court to examine all the evidence so that it can proceed.

The photo above, of Shawkan in court, is from today. Anyone can see that the waiting is wearying. The trial is trial enough for Shawkan, who is a photojournalist who was arrested in a general roundup of a protest in August 2013. He was a credentialed reporter covering the story of the protest and the crackdown and was arrested in the general chaos of the roundup. He should have been released by the Egyptian authorities within days when they realized what they had done, and his name should not be leading the litany of names of reporters who were arrested for doing their job in recent years.

But more than three years later, Shawkan sits in prison, sometimes in solitary confinement, and he awaits each new, now monthly, delay in the delivery of any news, any change in status, any justice.
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