Egyptians fear return of surveillance state
The release of recordings of telephone conversations among Egyptian activists has sparked a new debate over media freedom and privacy.
The recordings released by Egyptian journalist Abdel Rahim Ali about some activists and politicians — including activist Asmaa Mahfouz, the founder of the April 6 Youth Movement Ahmed Maher, Abdul Rahman Yusuf and former parliamentarian Mostafa al-Naggar — triggered a great debate in Egypt, and renewed concerns that the Mubarak police state, which used to eavesdrop on politicians and its opponents, is back.
In response to what Ali did, Naggar and Yusuf filed a lawsuit on Jan. 12 before the administrative court of the state council to cancel the TV show "Black Box," which Ali presents, and to close the TV channel Al-Qahira wal Nas.
