August 9, 2016—The Cairo Criminal Court adjourned the “Rabaa Dispersal” trial until September 6 during today’s court session. Among the nearly 740 defendants are Egyptian photographer Shawkan and important Muslim Brotherhood figures.

July 19, 2016—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) awarded one of its four 2016 International Press Freedom Awards to freelance photojournalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid “Shawkan” yesterday. The other recipients are journalists from India, Turkey, and El Salvador who have also faced “threats, legal action, and imprisonment” in the course of their work.

May 30, 2016—Amnesty International called the recent arrest of Egyptian Press Syndicate members "an alarming setback for freedom of expression." The Syndicate leaders were questioned for nearly 12 hours apropos “sheltering” Badr and al-Saqqa at the Syndicate. The prosecution accused the men of harboring fugitives.

January 30, 2016—Dozens of public figures and organizations called for the "immediate release” of writer Hesham Gafaar today, marking the passing of 100 days since his arrest.

December 1, 2015—Internationally acclaimed Egyptian researcher and journalist Ismail Alexandrani, an expert on Sinai affairs, is currently being interrogated by state security prosecutors following his arrest on Sunday evening.

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)

“I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” This was Thomas Jefferson’s decisive answer when asked to choose between “a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government.” Throughout the past four centuries, the universal avowal of democracy and the rule of law have dramatically evolved. As a …

In an effort to elucidate the legal structures governing the media in Egypt, as well as the country's declared obligations according to international law, Mostafa Shaat offers a breakdown of the existing frameworks, highlighting inconsistencies between the legal concept of freedom of the press as delineated in international law and Egypt's national laws. He further discusses some of the current reform efforts underway.

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.

Using video of a sexual assault in Tahrir Square as a case study, Madeleine Bair discusses the ethical and logistical considerations of citizen video as a means for social documentation. Bair points to the emergent challenges including reliability, consent, preservation and security, as citizen videos are sourced with increasing regularity by both new and traditional media. The Egyptian video, which sparked national change and international outrage, is a striking example of how citizen video can both shine light on an issue and stir controversy.