Access to Reporters Without Borders' Website Blocked in Egypt

Reporters Without Borders, known by their French acronym RSF, said Thursday that the organization's website had been blocked in Egypt, with authorities failing to provide any explanations for the ban.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Egypt ranks 161 in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, with ten journalists being killed in the country since 2011 and hundreds imprisoned for publishing anti-president materials. RSF argues that the current Egyptian legislation serves as a major oppressive tool to fetter the freedom of press in the country.

"Access to the RSF site (https://rsf.org), which carries information about media freedom violations worldwide in several languages including Arabic, has been blocked within Egypt since 14 August," the RSF statement said, adding that by shutting access to the organization's website Egypt joined the list of such "non-democratic" nations as Iran and China.

According to the statement, RSF has unsuccessfully tried to reach out for local authorities several times to receive explanations about the ban. Egypt's Supreme Council for Media promised RSF to investigate the incident should RSF lodge an official request. However, RSF expressed their concern that the request would be ignored as many others, which had been submitted by a number of previously blocked local media.

"This is the first time that the RSF site has been blocked in Egypt. We are extremely concerned about this iniquitous measure and we expect an explanation from the authorities for why RSF.org and more than 130 other sites are now inaccessible," RSF’s Middle East desk head Alexandra El Khazen was quoted as saying in the statement.