Egypt blocks access to Hürriyet Daily News website

ISTANBUL

Egypt has blocked access to the Hürriyet Daily News website, in what is the continuation of widening series of such online blockages in the country over the past week, according to a report by a local rights association in the country.

The Cairo-based Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) reported on June 18 that it monitored the blocking of 15 new websites in the country, with the total sum now reaching 93.

The updated list on June 18 included the website of Hürriyet Daily News.

It is not the first time that the Eyptian government blocked access to websites based in Turkey in addition to other countries.

On June 12, Cairo had blocked access to all websites of Daily Sabah, another English-language daily published in Turkey, as well as several other news outlets based in Turkey.

The Egyptian government had previously blocked dozens of websites without any official announcement or clarification on May 24. 

State news agency, Middle East News quoted a high-level security source as saying that access to 21 websites had been blocked, according to AFTE, including prominent independent news platforms Mada Masr, Daily News Egypt, Elborsa and Masr Al Arabia.

According to a report by Reuters late in May, the  21 websites had been blocked for allegedly being affiliated with Muslim Brotherhood or being funded by Qatar.

An official from Egypt’s National Telecom Regulatory Authority would not confirm or deny the blockage in May, but said: “So what if it is true? It should not be a problem,” the agency reported.

Among other websites blocked access in the country also included  Qatar-based Al Jazeera, HuffPost Arabi and Noonpost.