Egypt Warns Journalists, Says Coverage of Rare anti-Sissi Protests Being Monitored

Ha'aretz
Egypt's media authority warned journalists Sunday that it was monitoring coverage to ensure they abide by "professional codes" amid a rare burst of protests against President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi. The warning came hours after the latest small protest was dispersed by police in clouds of tear gas.



Dozens of people including children marched Saturday evening in the port city of Suez, calling for Sissi to step down, three witnesses told The Associated Press. Police "pursued the people in the streets ... there was lots of gas," one resident said. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals. 
The protest came after rare anti-government demonstrations in several Egyptian cities late Friday. Those too were quickly broken up by police. But they marked a startling eruption of street unrest, which has been almost completely silenced the past years by draconian measures imposed under Sissi. 
The government effectively banned all public protests in 2013 shortly after Sissi led the military's overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president. Since then, anyone who dared take to the streets was quickly arrested and received years-long prison sentences.
In its statement issued Sunday, the State Information Service, which accredits foreign media representatives, It said it has "carefully monitored" the coverage of the protest.
It called for reporters to "strictly abide by professional codes of conduct" and for media to provide a space for "viewpoints to be presented in an equal manner and that includes the viewpoint of the State or who represents it." The SIS has issued similar statements in the past surrounding sensitive events.


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