A number of Egyptian media professionals have rejected the recent media council’s decision to block websites and prosecute social media users, considering it contrary to the law and constitution that stipulates freedom of the press, the right to circulate information and freedom of expression in general.

For weeks, suspicions have abounded that the Egyptian government has not been open about the extent of the country’s Covid-19 outbreak.

The Egyptian government has asked a correspondent for The Guardian newspaper to leave the country after she wrote a report suggesting that the number of coronavirus cases in the country is likely much higher than official statistics suggest.

The coronavirus pandemic has uncovered the possibilities, as well as the confines of internet and communication technologies, as millions of people around the world are homebound, employees are teleworking, students are taking virtual classes, and information on social media platforms about the novel coronavirus abounds.

The host of a popular YouTube show says Egyptian security forces have arrested two of his brothers days after he aired a video allegedly showing an Egyptian military officer mutilating and burning a civilian in Sinai.

An Egyptian activist has been detained for 15 days after posting a video purportedly showing an Egyptian military officer mutilating and torching the body of a civilian in Sinai, her family members and lawyers tell Middle East Eye.

Al Jazeera has called on the Egyptian government to release Mahmoud Hussein, an Al Jazeera journalist held in Egypt for more than three years, citing deep concerns about his health amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Egypt has withdrawn the licence of a correspondent for the Guardian newspaper after a report suggested that cases of coronavirus in the country are likely much higher than official statistics.

An official at the Egyptian heath ministry yesterday denied recent reports by the Guardian and the New York Times that thousands of people have been infected by the novel coronavirus in the country.

Last month, courts in Egypt ruled in favour of closing down local Shia TV channels and websites. Despite a previous decision to annul the verdict, it was overturned by the state council judiciary.