For the first time in their history, Egyptian photographers are getting together to demonstrate on Saturday 11am, in front of the Press Syndicate, against increased police assaults.
Photographers face attacks from police agents and the thugs they deploy in demos, who smash cameras, intimidate, physically assault, and detain photographers while performing their professional duties.
I’m not a professional photographer, but my camera also had its share of Mubarak’s police wrath. Police Captain Muhammad Bassiouny of Bandar Damanhour Police Station stole my camera after his thugs showered me with kicks as I was photographing them kidnapping voters in front of polling stations in Damanhour during the November 2005 parliamentary elections. The camera was returned to me after few days (photos deleted)–only to be smashed by police thugs in June 2006 as I was photographing them kidnapping anti-torture activists.
I’m personally excited about this protest, and will attend it. I hope to see as many of you there. Those brave photographers who played a crucial role in exposing police brutality against peaceful dissent deserve our support. The least we can do to help them is to show up at the syndicate and show them we care. It will boost their morale next time they are working in this war zone, formerly known as Downtown Cairo.
UPDATE: I received the following statement from the protest organizers…
We, Photojournalists and photographers working in Egypt, call on the Egyptian authorities to:
-Provide the needed security measures to protect photojournalists while performing their professional duties
-Protect photojournalists from the irresponsible actions taken by some police agents, that include encouraging thugs to physically assault photographers and smash their cameras. This has led to severe injuries among photographers: Our colleague Amr Nabil of AP has lost his right eye during covering the 2005 parliamentary elections; our colleague Khaled Gamal was subject to thugs’ assaults (in the presence of the security), while covering the trial of Emad el-Gelda. Last but not least, photographers are now banned from entering the Parliament, and cover its sessions.
These violations have to stop now.
Our protest is just the beginning of a campaign to retrieve our rights back.
We also express our solidarity with our Sudanese detained colleague in Guantanamo, Sami el-Haj, Al-Jazeera’s cameraman, and demand his immediate release.