Rashwan described Mounir as a “cynical writer, after the style of the greats in the Egyptian tradition of journalism.”. Monir previously shared online footage of a police raid of his apartment on Saturday, obtained from a camera in the building. Kamel said that Mounir was outspoken when Egypt passed sovereignty over the two islands of Tiran and Sanafir over to Saudi Arabia, lamenting the pursuit of “anyone whose opinion offends the official line.” Kamel praised Mounir’s bravery and lack of compromise throughout his career. Most of them are still in pretrial detention, and a few of them have received prison sentences. Several members of the Journalists Syndicate penned tributes to Mounir, including syndicate head Diaa Rashwan and board member Mahmoud Kamel. The CPJ called for his immediate release and for all charges against him to be dropped. He became the fourth member of the journalists’ union to be arrested at that time as authorities moved to crackdown on freedom of speech amid the coronavirus pandemic. Under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Egypt has overseen a sweeping crackdown on the media, in addition to suppressing dissent and jailing thousands. Mounir, who had long suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure, was held in the Talbiya police station in the Haram district of Giza in Greater Cairo. Mounir, editor-in-chief of Al-Diyar, contracted coronavirus whilst incarcerated and …
Rather, he is one of the keenest people on national unity and his political and media history testifies to that. He was eventually brought before the State Security Prosecution which ordered him to be held in remand detention on charges of spreading false news, joining a terrorist group, and misuse of social media. Mounir had posted a video on Facebook that he claimed was from a surveillance camera inside his building that shows security forces breaking into his apartment. The article was titled “Holy Ignorance … Killing in the Name of God,” which angered bishops in the Egyptian Church. Mounir, editor-in-chief of Al-Diyar, contracted coronavirus whilst incarcerated and displayed typical symptoms of the virus. Kamel said that Mounir was outspoken when Egypt passed sovereignty over the two islands of Tiran and Sanafir over to Saudi Arabia, lamenting the pursuit of “anyone whose opinion offends the official line.” Kamel praised Mounir’s bravery and lack of compromise throughout his career. The Egyptian authorities interfered, prevented the publication of the magazine, and confiscated the printed issues. He also warned in this interview from attempts to exploit this crisis to stir sectarianism.