Egypt′s crusade against critical media continues: authorities block access to Qantara.de

Qantara.de has been blocked by the Egyptian authorities.

This development has also been independently confirmed by Egypt-based human rights activist and director of the ″Arabic Network for Human Rights Information″, Gamal Eid.

Following the state of emergency declared by Sisi in April, which was extended for another three months in June, 126 online media outlets have been blocked, reports the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

Egypt began actively blocking critical websites are the end of May. Among them, the independent Egyptian news platform Mada Masr, founded following the Arabellion and television broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Security officials in Egypt claim that the blocked websites disseminate lies about the regime and feature material in support of terrorism and extremism.

Critics and human rights activists regard this as a further attempt to stifle domestic criticism of the government. Reporters without Borders place Egypt 161 of 180 countries listed on its press freedom index.

The director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Gamal Eid, gave his reaction to the blocking of Qantara.de:

"The Egyptian authorities are becoming increasingly hysterical in their handling of critical media. The pro-dialogue website Qantara.de mainly publishes articles on social and cultural developments. Its raison d'etre is to promote dialogue between different cultures. It plays a major role in ensuring that people in Egypt have access to reliable information that reflects differing opinions across a wide range of topics."

Visit Qantara.de's dossiers on Democracy and Civil Society and Free Speech and Censorship