Friday March 29th, 2024
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World Unites to #FreeAJstaff

A global campaign, spearheaded by Al-Jazeera, will see marches in over 30 countries to demand the release of their journalists imprisoned in Egypt.

Staff Writer

A global day of action has been called for this Thursday in support of Al-Jazeera journalists detained in Egypt. The planned action is growing quickly and will be taking place in over thirty countries including Sydney, Manila, Islamabad, Doha, Amman, Nairobi, Ankara, Berlin, London, Rio, Toronto, Washington DC and San Francisco. Al-Jazeera is urging people from all backgrounds to take to the streets in an attempt to amplify their social media campaign using the hashtag #FreeAJStaff, and ultimately pressure Egyptian authorities to release of their staff

Since the 1st of February, the #FreeAJstaff campaign has garnered over a quarter of a billion "impressions" on Twitter. Dr. Mostefa Souag, General Director of Al-Jazeera Media Network, commented on the action saying: “We truly appreciate the solidarity from everybody right around the world. The pressure, support and calls for our colleagues to be released have continued to keep the story in the news. The Global Day of Action is about the freedom of the press, it is about objective reporting and to ensure journalists cannot be gagged or silenced. We ask everyone to contribute to the Global Day of Action on Thursday 27th February. Journalism is not a crime.”

As it stand Al-Jazeera English journalists Baher Mohamed, Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste have been detained since the 29th of December. As for Al-Jazeera Arabic's Abdullah Elshamy, he has been detained since August 14th. The truth is that they are not alone and that there are many journalists who have found themselves wrongly imprisoned. We are yet to hear of any rallies happening in Egypt, but that isn't a surprise, considering the recent protest law being enforced. 

The following is a list of demonstrations, open to both the public and the media, organised so far:

Tokyo, Japan - Solidarity stand outside the Foreign Correspondents' Club, Yurakucho Denki North Building 20F Yurakucho 1-7-1, Chiyoda-ku,1GMT, 10am local time.

Ramallah, Palestine -Solidarity stand at the Manara Roundabout, 9 GMT, 11am local time.

Gaza, Palestine -
Solidarity stand Outside the Al Jazeera bureau, Burj al-Jalaa (al-Jalaa Tower), 9GMT, 12pm local time.

Istanbul, Turkey -
Solidarity stand outside Outside the Egyptian consulate, 9GMT, 11am local time.

Khartoum, Republic of Sudan - 
Solidarity stand outside the Al Jazeera Bureau, Al Baladiya Street, Building: Institute of Arab Development and Agricultural Investment, 9GMT, 12pm local time.

Kabul, Afghanistan -  
Solidarity stand outside the Egyptian embassy in Kabul, and outside the Al Jazeera bureau, ST 13 Wazir Akbar Khan, 930GMT, 2 PM local time.

Jerusalem, Palestine -
Solidarity stand at Zeitoun Hill, 10GMT, 12pm local time

Amman, Jordan –
Solidarity stand outside the Al Jazeera bureau, Jabal Amman, 2nd Roundabout, 10GMT, 12pm local time.

Ankara, Turkey -
Solidarity stand with our journalists outside the Al Jazeera bureau, Karom Shopping Center, Çankaya 11GMT, 1pm local time.

Beirut, Lebanon - Solidarity stand at Martyrs’ Square, 11GMT, 1pm local time

Berlin, Germany - Brandenburg Gate, 11 GMT, 12pm local time.

London, UK -
Trafalgar Square, 12 GMT, 12pm local time.

Nouakchott, Mauritania - Solidarity stand outside Al Jazeera Bureau, Mamado Konatee Street, City Center Tent, 12GMT, 12pm local time.

Tunis, Tunisia -Solidarity at Tunis Center for Press Freedom, 4 Rue de Mexique, 12GMT, 1pm local time

Toronto, Canada - Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square, 17GMT, 12pm local time.

Montreal, Canada: Egyptian Consulate in Montreal, 1000 de la Gauchetière O., Montréal, 17GMT, 12:00pm

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -
Journalists and the general public are encouraged to take a photo with a "Journalism is not a Crime" sign at "Posto 7" in Arpoador Beach 2030GMT, 5:30pm local time.