Egypt deports French journalist amid crackdown on the media

Egyptian authorities have deported a French journalist without explanation, their latest move in an ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression and the media.

The reporter, Remy Pigaglio, who worked for several publications, including Catholic daily La Croix, was returning from a trip to France and prevented from entering Egypt. He has a residency work permit and press card, and was detained for 30 hours at the airport before being sent back to Paris early Wednesday.

French journalists in Egypt expressed their dismay at the deportation, saying in a note that it was a sign of "the growing repression by authorities of Egyptian and foreign media."

Egypt was ranked 158 out of 180 countries in the 2015 Press Freedom Index, according to Reporters Without Borders, a freedom of expression advocacy group.

 

 

 

AP