Journalist accused of running propaganda outlet
The Egyptian imprisonment of Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy on dubious charges became a cause célèbre: He was represented by Amal Clooney, his story was told across the world, and he won a prestigious press freedom award.
But Fahmy is now alleged to have been operating a propaganda outfit — for the very country that imprisoned him.
The dramatic turnaround comes in the form of a lawsuit in the United Kingdom, filed by a former employee, which alleges a publication under his leadership after his release was in fact a propaganda outlet for the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
Fahmy was convicted in Egypt in 2014 of endangering national security and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, while working as a journalist for Al Jazeera. Fahmy was later pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-sisi.
In 2014, he won the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom Award. He is also on the board of directors of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.
The lawsuit alleges that Fahmy, rather than being a crusader for press freedom, was operating a publication that advocated the “position of deeply authoritarian and repressive regimes in the Middle East,” maintained connections with regime representatives and, according to claims made in court filings, had “covertly received substantial funding from and been assisted and directed by or on behalf of the United Arab Emirates or representatives or agents thereof.”
Jane Cahane, a journalist in the United Kingdom, filed the lawsuit against Fahmy, and the publication, The Investigative Journal (TIJ), in November 2020. It accuses Fahmy, and the publication, of fraudulent and/or negligent misrepresentation.
Cahane was awarded 80,735.92 pounds ($137,233.18), but the court noted that neither TIJ nor Fahmy appeared at a hearing in June 2021 to defend themselves, nor did their lawyers. Multiple attempts to reach Fahmy for comment were unsuccessful as of press time, and he has not commented about the allegations in other media.
As of Wednesday, TIJ’S website was almost entirely defunct, with just two stories on the entire site — one about Zambia, the other about Israel and Sudan. Postmedia News was unable to reach a representative of TIJ.
Cahane, the lawsuit says, was hired in December 2018 as editor-in-chief of the publication, a job she held until July 2019.
In legal documents, Cahane alleges she was interviewed by Fahmy for the job and that he told her it was “an authentic and trustworthy publication whose journalists risked their lives for the truth.”
Cahane took the job on the understanding that it was a “reliable,” “nuanced” publication that offered “independent and objective coverage,” the legal documents say.
“(Cahane) has made it clear that, had she known the truth about TIJ, she would never have applied for the position or accepted it when offered,” says a press release from Carter-ruck, the law firm that represented Cahane.