The head of Egypt's Journalists Syndicate Khaled Elbalshy has launched a campaign to revoke a key legal requirement that journalists obtain special permits for field reporting.
Elbalshy announced the campaign this week in a statement on the syndicate's Facebook page, calling for the abolition of Article 12 of Law 180/2018, known as the Law Regulating the Press, Media, and the Supreme Council for Media Regulation.
The article mandates journalists acquire special permits to cover public events, including conferences, meetings and public gatherings, or to conduct interviews and film in public areas not already restricted.
“This article has become an obstacle to professional practice, especially for photojournalists,” Elbalshy said, asserting that “recognizing the syndicate ID as the sole credential for newsgathering is a necessary step toward upholding press freedom.”
The law has drawn criticism since its passage, with journalists and rights groups arguing that it restricts reporting and grants broad powers to authorities to prevent coverage. According to a 2018 study by the Egyptian Observatory for Journalism and Media, authorities committed 218 violations against journalists that year alone. The most frequent abuse, the report found, was preventing coverage, which accounted for 30% of incidents.
In March of 2024, journalist Rana Mamdouh was detained for 12 hours in Ras El-Hekma, where she had been working on an investigative story without a government permit. She was released on bail of 5,000 Egyptian pounds (around $102).
The statement emphasized that the syndicate would begin lobbying parliamentarians, including supportive MPs and fellow journalists in the House, to amend the law. The syndicate plans to convene a meeting at its headquarters to coordinate a rapid response strategy for amending the article, and will send formal letters to all relevant authorities in support of the campaign.
Elbalshy also called on journalists and media professionals to “support the campaign and join efforts to defend press freedom and their right to work without obstruction.”
Although Elbalshy acknowledged that other parts of the 2018 law are also problematic, he said the limited time remaining in the current legislative cycle means the union will focus solely on Article 12 for now. The current parliamentary session, which began in October 2024, is expected to conclude by mid-2025. A new round of elections is slated for the end of the year.
In the long term, Elbalshy concluded that the syndicate plans to present a broader legislative agenda in the next session, including a draft law on access to information and reforms to eliminate prison sentences in publishing-related offenses.
