New York — Egyptian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Gamal Abdelhamid Ziada and drop all charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Tuesday, August 22, plainclothes state security forces arrested Ziada, the father of Belgium-based freelance Egyptian journalist Ahmed Gamal Ziada, on a street in Giza, according to news reports and a tweet by the journalist. In his tweets, the journalist said his father had no political affiliation and only used social media to promote his clothing manufacturing business. The person who spoke with CPJ said they believed Gamal Abdelhamid Ziada was arrested in retaliation for his son's work. Ahmed Gamal Ziada covers human rights issues and Egyptian foreign policy for regional independent news websites including Raseef22, Daraj, and Middle East Eye.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 24, 2023 15:59 UTC