Egyptian Journalist Dies

Cairo denies systematic targeting of journalists amid unrest
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 5, 2011 5:31 AM CST
Egyptian Journalist Dies
French photojournalist from SIPA Press agency Alfred Yaghobzadeh is treated by anti-government protesters after being wounded during clashes in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011.   ((AP Photo))

An Egyptian reporter who was shot during clashes a week ago died of his wounds yesterday, his employer said, in the first reported death of a journalist in the chaos surrounding Egypt's protests. Ahmed Mohammed Mahmoud, 36, was taking photographs of fighting between protesters and security forces from the balcony of his home when he was shot Jan. 28, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram said on its website.

Mahmoud worked for al-Taawun, a newspaper put out by the Al-Ahram publishing house. Among other reports of systematic targeting of journalists in Egypt:

  • Al-Jazeera said its Cairo offices were set ablaze, and said later yesterday that security forces arrested its Cairo bureau chief Abdel-Fattah Fayed and correspondent Ahmed Youssef.
  • Yesterday, two correspondents for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who had just flown into Cairo were detained, the organization said.
  • A Swedish TV reporter, Bert Sundstrom of public broadcaster SVT, was in serious condition at a Cairo hospital after being stabbed in the back on Thursday.
  • CBS News said correspondent Lara Logan and cameramen Don Lee and Max McClellan were released after being held for a day by the Egyptian military, and were headed back to the United States.
  • Al-Jazeera also said its website was hacked, and a banner ad on its Arabic-language site was taken down for more than two hours and replaced with a slogan reading "Together for the collapse of Egypt."
  • The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said it had documented at least 101 direct attacks on journalists and news facilities this week, and that it was investigating numerous other reports.
(More Egypt protests stories.)

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