Cairo, February 03: Supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak attack journalists in Cairo in an effort to disrupt the coverage of the violence used against anti-government protesters.
A Belgian reporter was arrested and beaten after he was accused of espionage in Cairo while al-Arabiya correspondent Ahmed Abdullah and journalists from the BBC, ABC News and CNN were attacked, CNN reported.
“The Egyptian government is employing a strategy of eliminating witnesses to their actions,” said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, Middle East and North Africa program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“The government has resorted to blanket censorship, intimidation, and today a series of deliberate attacks on journalists carried out by pro-government mobs,” he added.
Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders Jean-Francois Juillard has condemned the violence against media personnel and has called for an immediate reaction from the international community.
A number of European leaders have also called on Egypt to stop the violence against people and urged the government to take up political reforms without delay.
Medical sources have reported that three people were killed and more than 1,500 injured in clashes that broke out between protesters and plain-clothes policemen in Cairo on Wednesday.
Cairo’s Tahrir Square has turned into a battleground as protesters defy a nighttime curfew and pledge to remain on the streets until Mubarak steps down.
——–Agencies