Hossam Bahgat

Hossam Bahgat (born c. 1978) is an Egyptian human rights activist and investigative journalist. He is the founder of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights . He was a journalist for Mada Masr from 2002 to 2013.[1]

Hossam Bahgat
Bornc. 1978
OccupationActivist, journalist

Early life

Hossam Bahgat was born circa 1978.[2]

Career

Bahgat started his career as a journalist.[3] He subsequently worked for the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, but he quit his job because of their inaction over the Queen Boat incident, when 52 men were arrested for homosexual acts.[3] Instead, he founded Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a human rights organization, in 2002.[2][4] It was the first human rights organization in Egypt to recognize LGBT rights as human rights.[4]

Bahgat is an investigative journalist for Mada Masr.[2] He was arrested on 8 November 2015 and detained until 10 November 2015 for "publishing false news that harms national interests and disseminating information that disturbs public peace" during the presidency of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.[2][5] The arrest was condemned both by the Committee to Protect Journalists and Amnesty International.[2][6] In January 2016, he was again critical of el-Sisi's regime, when he argued that the "level of repression now [was] significantly higher than it was under the Mubarak regime".[7]

Bahgat was the 2011 recipient of the Alison Des Forges Award from Human Rights Watch "for upholding the personal freedoms of all Egyptians".[2]

Personal life

Bahgat resides in Alexandria, Egypt.[2]

References
  1. HOSSAM BAHGAT
  2. Black, Ian; Khalil, Jahd (9 November 2015). "Anger as Egypt detains campaigning journalist". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  3. Soussi, Alasdair (July 2009). "Hossam Bahgat". New Internationalist. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  4. "Egyptian rights group 'cannot protect gays'". BBC. 11 February 2002. Retrieved 27 September 2016. Hossam Bahgat, who is founding a new human rights group, said he aimed to protect personal rights and as such would help a gay person.
  5. Kirkpatrick, David D. (10 November 2015). "Hossam Bahgat, Journalist and Advocate, Is Released by Egypt's Military". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  6. "Egypt: Arrest of prominent activist Hossam Bahgat another blow for freedom of expression". Amnesty International. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  7. Shenker, Jack (24 January 2016). "State repression in Egypt worst in decades, says activist". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 September 2016.


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