Nile TV reporter shot in Cairo clashes

Mahmoud al-Ghazali, a correspondent for Egypt’s state owned Nile TV, is recovering in hospital after being shot with a pellet while covering clashes between protestors and security forces in Cairo, rapidtvnews.com reports.

The journalist, who suffered extensive eye injuries from the pellet, was shot by a member of Egypt’s Central Security Forces on 4 February, according to local reports.

“Egyptian authorities have an obligation to enforce the law and should demonstrate that attacks on journalists will not go unpunished,” said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, Committee to Protect Journalism-CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator.

“These attacks show how tenuous the situation is for journalists in Egypt. Authorities must ensure journalists are able to carry out their work unharmed,” he said.

The recent violence follows that of December and November between Egyptian security forces and protesters who are calling for an immediate end to military rule in Egypt.

CPJ has documented 50 cases of journalists who were shot at, sexually assaulted, beaten, or detained over the two-month period.