This essay is part of an ethnographic study of Egyptian film production conducted between August 2013 and September 2015. The study is centered on participant observation within two main film companies, New Century Film Production and Al-Batrik Art Production, in addition to interviews conducted with key actors in the industry …

May 12, 2016—A social media campaign of selfies went viral yesterday in response to the recent prosecutorial decision to detain members of the group Street Children for 15 days. These activists and social media users called for the Street Children’s freedom by posting personal selfies with the Arabic hashtag, “Does the phone camera shake/scare you?”

February 20, 2016—Egyptian writer and novelist Ahmed Naji was sentenced to two years in prison on Saturday after publishing "obscene sexual content" from a chapter in his novel, The Guide for Using Life, in a state-owned literary magazine in August 2014.

February 1, 2016—After questioning this morning, Egyptian prosecutors ordered the release of Islam Gawish the day after his arrest. No charges were filed against him. (Aswat Masriya)

January 31, 2016—Egyptian cartoonist Islam Gawish was arrested today while working in the Egypt News Network offices. The official cause for the arrest remains unclear, but a source inside Cairo's Security Directorate has told Aswat Masriya the reason.

December 12, 2015—Egyptian writer and journalist Ahmed Naji was brought to court Saturday, where he faces trial for publishing "obscene sexual content" in a literary weekly.

On Monday The Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) denounced the suspension of Azza Elhenawy, an anchorwoman at Egypt's state television for comments she made on her show earlier this month. (Aswat Masriya)

A journalist and the editor-in-chief of a magazine run by the state-owned Akhbar Al-Youm news organisation were referred to a criminal court on Saturday for publishing and writing an article containing "obscene sexual content." (Aswat Masriya)

In a systematic examination of Saudi law, Lara-Zuzan Golesorkhi explores how the Kingdom has justified its crackdown on activists and dissenters on social media. Golesorkhi investigates how these laws have been applied in the cases of nine different activists in the last four years. Mapping their trajectories alongside the language enshrined into Saudi law, this article offers valuable insight into why and how these actions have been taken by the Kingdom.

In a short and critical read, Amr Khalifa draws attention to the Egyptian state’s influence on shaping the narratives propagated by national and local media, particularly television. Using initial coverage of the 2011 Revolution as a jumping off point, Khalifa argues that the same mechanisms for controlling the media have been used and reused by successive governments, and reflects on new limitations on freedom of expression, which he argues are more stringent than those seen under Gamal Abdel Nasser.