Jailtime is The New Pulitzer — Al Jazeera Reporter Remains in Prison
By: Norbert Mandu
Tags: Egypt, Journalists, World, Reporter, Al Jazeera

Soon after landing in Cairo, Egypt in December 2016, Al Jazeera reporter Mahmoud Hussein was arrested for allegedly “damaging Egyptian national security” and “broadcasting false news”. Hussein, who traveled to the country to see his family as part of a personal trip, has been in prison for over 3,5 years and is unlikely to be released for now, even amid a global pandemic.

Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Hussein

Hussein, an Egyptian national based at Al Jazeera’s Qatar bureau, traveled to his home country in hopes of spending time with family. Almost immediately after landing, he was arrested without charge at that time and has spent more than 3,5 years in prison as of April 2020.

Later accused of “incitement against state institutions and broadcasting false news with the aim of spreading chaos”, Hussein and Al Jazeera denied all allegations.

Hussein’s incarceration is a breach of Egypt’s own penal code, which states no one could possibly be kept in detention for more than 620 days. The Egyptian journalist has now spent over 1,200 days in prison.

“It is a sad day for all journalists”, said Mostefa Souag, Al Jazeera’s Acting Director General, of Hussein’s unlawful jailtime.

Hussein is unlikely to walk away as a free man any time soon. In May 2019, the Egyptian court rejected a request to release him from prison and additional investigations were opened. The charges were unspecified but were enough to send Hussein back to prison for the time being. While in detainment, the reporter suffered significant injuries on his arm and was denied a visit to see his father, who was in a critical medical condition at the time.

Al Jazeera, worried about Mahmoud Hussein’s wellbeing amid the coronavirus outbreak, now urges Egypt to release the jailed reporter immediately.

“Under current circumstances, with the spread of the coronavirus and the health hazards associated with it, Mahmoud and other journalists are exposed to extreme risks,” Al Jazeera’s Mostefa Souag said. He added, “it’s scandalous that these detained journalists are subjected to such inhumane conditions … we strongly urge the Egyptian authorities release Mahmoud and all other imprisoned journalists immediately”.

The Qatar-based network is urging journalists around the world to stand by Hussein and other reporters in imprisonment and “to express their solidarity through all available means and demand their immediate freedom, allowing them to reunite with their families and loved ones at this critical juncture”.

Mahmoud Hussein is among many other Al Jazeera journalists to face jailtime in Egypt. On December 29, 2013, Australian Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were taken into custody by Egyptian security forces at the Mariott Hotel in Cairo, where the reporters used their rooms as makeshift studios. Like in Hussein’s case, allegations against them included reporting false news, which allegedly “damaged national security”. On June 23, 2014, all three of them were found guilty and were sentenced to between seven and ten years in prison.

After a nine-month long retrial in 2015, Fahmy, Mohamed and Greste were each sentenced to three, three-and-a-half and three years in prison, respectively. They were once again charged with “false news with the aim of harming the country”.

Greste was later deported back to his home country Australia, where allegations against him were discarded. Fahmy, a dual citizen, dropped his Egyptian citizenship so he could be deported back to Canada. Eventually, he and Mohamed were pardoned by the Egyptian president and were later released. They both left Cairo in 2015.

It is unknown when Mahmoud Hussein will be released, although, five years after his colleagues left Egypt, Hussein’s imprisonment may be considered symbolic. It represents a new wave of the growing tension between journalists and government officials globally.

Modern day journalists around the world are not only facing dishonesty but also the increasing dangers of investigating corrupt, undemocratic and totalitarian governments. Instead of a well-earned Pulitzer prize for their reporting, they have a very good chance of being awarded jailtime without a fair trial.