Journalism is the frontline

In this special edition of the Listening Post we mark the first ever UN International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.

It is an event organised by dozens of media freedom and civil liberties groups who are out to stop the persecution, abduction and – in too many cases – the killing of journalists, at the hands of people who are seldom, if ever, prosecuted for their crimes, let alone convicted.

We examine the challenges faced by journalists in Egypt under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and we take a look at the case of the Al Jazeera journalists who have been behind bars for more than 300 days.

Talking to us about freedom of press, the geopolitics behind the case of the Al Jazeera journalists and the security narrative being expounded by the Egyptian government: Fatima El-Issawi, research fellow at the London School of Economics Middle East Centre; Nadine Marroushi, journalist; Sherif Mansour, MENA coordinator, Committee to Protect Journalists; Osama Saeed, spokesperson, Al Jazeera.

We are also looking at other stories of impunity against journalists around the world. According to the New York-based media freedom organisation Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 631 journalists have been killed since 1992, and 90 percent of those murders have gone unpunished. We look at seven countries where journalists have come under attack: Ukraine, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Eritrea, and Mexico.

In the second half of our show, Richard Gizbert sits down with Al Jazeera Arabic reporter Abdullah Elshamy who spent 309 days in jail in Egypt, half of them on hunger strike, despite never being charged with a crime. He talks about his coverage of the post Morsi protests, his experience in prison and gives its view on the challenges journalists face working in Egypt today.