Egyptian journalists launch 'Journalists Against Coup' movement

Nearly 70 Egyptian journalists launched on Monday a new movement to defend the 2011 January revolution and oppose any coup against it. "We are a group of Egyptian journalists of different political and ideological backgrounds united by one goal which is defending the January Revolution against the coup," the "Journalists Against Coup" said in its constituent statement. The group includes several chief editors as well as veteran journalists like Fahmy Howeidy and Wael Qandil. "The purpose of this movement is to stand against the military coup," Adel Sabry, former editor-in-chief of the liberal Wafd newspaper, told the Anadolu Agency. "The press paid heavy price immediately after the coup with seven channels shut down, the printing of some newspapers stopped and harassment of several journalists opposed to what happened." The powerful army ousted Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, on July 3 following mass protests against him. While many Egyptians support the army’s roadmap, which also included suspending the constitution and installing the head of the constitutional court as interim president, others see what happened as a military coup. "We will be calling an emergency meeting of the Syndicate of the Press general assembly to discuss the role of the current chairman of the syndicate in this coup," added Sabry.