Hisham Jaafar, Mada Foundation for Media Development
Medium:Internet, Print
Charge:Anti-state
Imprisoned:October 21, 2015

National security agents raided the offices of the Mada Foundation for Media Development in the Cairo suburb of 6th of October, and arrested its director, Hisham Jaafar, on October 21, 2015. Staff members at the foundation, who spoke with CPJ on the condition of anonymity, said the agents were masked and armed. The agents detained staff members at the offices for several hours, the staff members said. Human rights lawyers, among them lawyers for the regional rights group the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, were not permitted to enter the offices, according to news reports.

Security forces permitted all staff to leave that evening, but closed the foundation's office, which remained closed late in 2015, staff members said.

After Jaafar's arrest, several agents raided his home, which is within walking distance of the foundation's office, according to accounts from his wife and son on social media and in news reports.

Security agents took Jaafar to an unknown location after his arrest, according to news reports. Three days later, his lawyers were told he was being held in Cairo's Tora prison and had been questioned by national security prosecutors, Khaled el-Balshy, a member of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, told CPJ.

The journalist is charged with belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group and receiving bribes from foreign sources, according to his colleagues. His lawyers were prevented from attending his detention renewal hearing on November 30, 2015, according to news reports.

Jaafar is the former editor-in-chief of the popular website IslamOnline, which covered news and religious and social issues. He founded the Mada Foundation for Media Development in 2010 along with other several former IslamOnline staff members. The foundation provides training and support for local journalists and serves as a hub for research projects on social issues, such as women's rights and religious dialogue. It also launched the website OnIslam, which covers news as well as features on lifestyle, health, and Islamic spirituality.

Several of the foundation's employees have received threats from security forces and some have left the country for fear of arrest, according to employees with whom CPJ spoke.

The Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, along with several prominent Egyptian journalists and academics, have called for Jaafar's release, describing him as an independent journalist and researcher with no political affiliations. Former colleagues at IslamOnline and staff at the Mada Foundation told CPJ he had been working on investigative reports about parliamentary reform and a research project on national dialogue before his arrest.

Jaafar's wife has been unable to visit him in prison, and has not been able to send him medication, clothes, or a pair of prescription glasses to replace a pair broken during his arrest, according to social media and Jaafar's colleagues, who spoke to CPJ.

No trial date had been set by December 1, 2015.

Disclaimer: © Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ.

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.