An Egyptian judge has banned state-owned TV cameras from filming the rest of Hosni Mubarak’s trial. Even though state TV cameras were allowed in the courtroom for the first two hearings, Judge Ahmed Rifaat made the decision to ban live coverage before witnesses testify in court “in protection of the general interest”. According to Al-Masry Al-Youm, the decision was met with outrage and suspicion from many members of the public.
BBC journalist Shaimaa Khalil has been released after her arrest yesterday in Egypt. The BBC has said it is not yet clear whether she faces further action by the authorities. Reports say that Khalil, a producer at the broadcaster’s Cairo bureau, was believed to have been arrested along with over 80 people, including other journalists, after soldiers and riot police cleared a three-week sit-in in Tahrir Square. She was detained for 20 hours at a military base before being moved and later released.
The BBC’s Shaimaa Khalil has been arrested in Egypt while reporting from Cairo. In her most recent tweet, Khalil said she and those with her were “OK” and on the way to see district prosecutors. She had travelled to Tahrir Square after Egyptian security forces had moved in to clear the area of protesters. In her last tweet before her arrest, Khalil noted the atmosphere was “extremely tense” and that the area was surrounded by “military”, “riot police” and “armoured vehicles”.
Tear gas was fired at protesters in Tahrir Square this week as hundreds of Egyptians demanded faster action against former senior officials who are currently awaiting trial. On Tuesday evening, families of the 840 people killed in February’s mass protests had gathered to honour the dead. When police arrived and violence erupted, the crowds moved towards Tahrir to speak out for the “martyrs” who had been killed in the uprising.