Mahmoud Abou Zeid (Shawkan), Freelance
Medium:Internet, Print
Charge:Anti-State, Retaliatory
Imprisoned:August 14, 2013

Abou Zeid, a freelance photographer, was detained while covering clashes between Egyptian security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi during the dispersal of the pro-Morsi sit-in at Raba'a Al-Adawiya in Cairo, according to news reports.

He was first held in a Cairo stadium with other protesters and foreign correspondents who were released the same day.

Abou Zeid contributed to the U.K.-based citizen journalism site and photo agency Demotix and the digital media company Corbis. After his detention, Demotix sent a letter to the Egyptian authorities confirming that Abou Zeid had been covering the clashes for the agency, the photographer's brother, Mohamed Abou Zeid, told CPJ.

In September 2013, the Egyptian general prosecutor's office extended the journalist's pre-trial detention, Mohamed, his brother, told CPJ. Mohamed told CPJ in 2014 that Abou Zeid's lawyer and the legal team at the Arab Network for Human Rights Information had appealed for his release. The appeal was denied.

On May 14, 2015, Abou Zeid appeared before a judge for the first time since his arrest, according to news reports. The judge renewed his pre-trial detention, according to the Freedom for Shawkan campaign. The journalist, whose lawyer was not present in court, told the judge about his arrest and denied the allegations against him.

In September 2015, after more than two years of pretrial detention, Abou Zeid's case was referred to a Cairo criminal court for trial. The photographer was charged with weapons possession, illegal assembly, murder, and attempted murder, according to court documents. The trial was ongoing in late 2016, and included more than 700 defendants.

During a trial session on October 8, 2016, the prosecution aired footage of anti-government protests in 2011 and 2012 as evidence against the defendants, Shawkan's lawyer, Taher Abou Nasr, told CPJ. None of the footage shown was of the Raba'a sit-in where Abou Zeid was arrested.

Abou Zeid is being held at Tora Prison. He has been diagnosed with Hepatitis C and his health has deteriorated in prison, the journalist's family told CPJ.

The journalist was a recipient of CPJ's International Press Freedom Awards in 2016.

Abou Zeid wrote a letter to mark his 600th day in jail in April 2015. The letter described the abuse he has suffered since his arrest and urged advocacy on behalf of detained journalists in Egypt.

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