KARACHI: An Egyptian journalist has died after contracting Covid-19 during pretrial detention, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

“We are extremely disturbed by journalist Mohamed Monir’s death today after he spent more than two weeks unnecessarily held in pretrial detention at Cairo’s notorious Tora Prison,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Programme Coordinator Sherif Mansour.

“Egyptian authorities must release all journalists held for their work, as even brief detentions amid the Covid-19 pandemic can mean a death sentence,” said Mr Mansour.

Mohamed Monir was arrested on June 15 on charges of joining a terrorist group, spreading false news and misusing social media, as the CPJ documented at the time. He was released from Cairo’s Tora Prison unconditionally on July 2 after falling ill in custody, and died at Agouza Hospital in Giza of complications with Covid-19, according to a report and Facebook post by Al-Jazeera.

The Ministry of Interior, which oversees the state prisons, did not return CPJ’s emailed request for comment.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2020