The Fahmy Foundation was established in 2015 by award-winning journalist Mohamed Fahmy and his wife, Marwa Omara, to champion free speech and fight suppression of the press.

Based in Vancouver, Canada, the Foundation provides advocacy and financial assistance for reporters, photographers and prisoners of conscience unjustly imprisoned around the world.

Recent projects include presenting the 12-point Protection Charter with Amnesty International (Canada) in Ottawa to ensure greater advocacy for Canadians overseas.

For imprisoned journalists, prisoners of conscience, and their families, our campaigns provide much-needed advocacy, public awareness and critical support.

Learn how you can help.

Get involved in our campaigns, raise awareness, and help keep the voices of those unjustly imprisoned alive. Every contribution can make a big difference.

Advocacy works! 

German journalist Deniz Yücel has been released after a year in Turkish prison

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Deniz Yücel, a German journalist detained in a Turkish prison for over a year without any charges being brought against him,  has been released. Held on suspicions of membership in a terrorist organization, Yücel has returned to Germany after being freed on Feb.16, 2018.

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Ethiopian journalist Woubshet Taye released after seven years of wrongful imprisonment

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Ethiopian journalist Woubshet Taye has been released after almost seven years of wrongful and arbitrary imprisonment. Taye was released on Feb.14, 2018. CPJ research shows that the terror-related charges the journalist faced were fabricated in retaliation for their critical reporting.

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Historic day for press freedom in Canada: Parliament Pass Press Shield Law

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After a yearlong campaign from CJFE, Fahmy Foundation, and others, the passage of Bill S-231 means that protections for confidential journalistic sources are now in place in Canada.
Bill S-231 amends the Canada Evidence Act to allow journalists to refuse disclosure for information or documents that identify or are likely to identify a journalistic source.

By adopting the bill, the Canadian government has taken a strong stand for press freedom. It brings Canada closer into compliance with international standards for the protection of press sources.

CJFE mobilized a global coalition of organizations on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, to send a joint letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling on his government to support the bill. Fahmy Foundation advocated for and was cosignatory to the letter to Trudeau and Liberal Government.

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In response to Trump's fake news awards,
CPJ announces Press Oppressors awards

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In response to Trump’s fake news awards, CPJ announces Press Oppressors awards. CPJ is recognizing world leaders who have  attacked the press and undermined the norms that support freedom of the media. For the category of “Overall Achievement in Undermining Global Press Freedom,” the winner is President Donald Trump of the United States. Trump also takes runner-up in "Most Thin-skinned."

2017: least deadly year for journalists in 14 years

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A total of 65 journalists (including professional journalists, citizen-journalists and media workers) were killed worldwide in 2017, according to Reporters Without Borders. Twenty-six of them were killed in the course of their work, the collateral victims of a deadly situation such as an air strike, an artillery bombardment, or a suicide bombing. The other 39 were murdered, and deliberately targeted because their reporting threatened political, economic, or criminal interests. As in 2016, most of the deaths were targeted (60%). The aim in each case was to silence them.

The 2017 death toll is a slight fall (-18%) from the 2016 figure (79). In the professional journalist category (50 this year), RSF notes that 2017 has been the least deadly year for professional journalists in 14 years.

Twice as many women killed in 2017

Ten women journalists were killed this year, as compared to five last year. Many of the victims were experienced and determined investigative reporters with an abrasive writing style. Despite receiving threats, they continued to investigate and expose corruption and other cases involving politicians or criminal groups, and they paid for this with their lives.     

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Fahmy Foundation joins Reporters Without Borders and over 120 other organizations to endorse special envoy proposal

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In an effort to provide protection for journalists working around the world, the Fahmy Foundation joined Reporters Without Borders and over 120 other organizations, calling on the United Nations to establish a special representative for the Safety of Journalists. Other prominent organizations and individuals joined the call, including Human Rights Watch, Committee to Protect Journalists, and Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.
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SEE the full list of endorsements here

Joining the fight against Bill C-51

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The Fahmy Foundation stands with human rights and advocacy organizations (like Amnesty International Canada, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and the BC Civil Liberties Association) arguing that Bill C-51 could  “seriously jeopardize the rights & freedoms of Canadians”.

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Mohamed Fahmy talks importance of Protection Charter on CBC Power & Politics

Mohamed Fahmy and Amnesty International propose enshrining a new law to obligate government to defend the rights of Canadians imprisoned abroad

1,376 Canadians are currently incarcerated abroad, many under oppressive regimes, held on trumped up charges and facing grave human rights violations. Fahmy’s work is fueled by his desire to protect other Canadian citizens from the horrors of his own experience: 438 days in an Egyptian jail for performing his job as a journalist. With more than five million Canadians outside of Canada at any one time, this issue is of national importance. Amnesty International is working alongside Fahmy to urge the Canadian government to enshrine in law the right for all Canadian citizens to receive consular assistance and equal treatment. Their proposed #protectioncharter is calling on the Liberal government to defend the rights of Canadians imprisoned abroad.

Read About the Campaign, and the Full List of Endorsers

 Fahmy Foundation partners with Amn‎esty International on multi-language #FreeTurkeyMedia worldwide campaign.

According to the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world, detaining one-third of all imprisoned journalists globally, most still awaiting trial.

The Fahmy Foundation has partnered with Amnesty International on a multi-language #FreeTurkeyMedia worldwide campaign to raise awareness for this tragedy.

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World Press Freedom

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Map by Andrew Fahmy
  • Press freedom declined to its lowest point in 12 years in 2015, as political, criminal, and terrorist forces sought to co-opt or silence the media in their broader struggle for power.
  • Only 13 percent of the world’s population enjoys a Free press—that is, where coverage of political news is robust, the safety of journalists is guaranteed, state intrusion in media affairs is minimal, and the press is not subject to onerous legal or economic pressures.
  • Forty-one percent of the world’s population has a Partly Free press, and 46 percent live in Not Free media environments.
  • 39 Journalists Killed in 2016 - Committee to Protect Journalists
  • More than 800 journalists kill in past decade, 115 in 2105 alone - United Nations
  • 199 journalists imprisoned in 2015- Committee to Protect Journalists
  • 259 journalists jailed worldwide in 2016- Commitee To Protect Journalists

Click here to read the Freedom House Report

Fahmy Foundation urges PM Trudeau to endorse campaign for safety of journalists

On November 2, 2016 Fahmy Foundation joined CJFE, Canadian organizations and media outlets urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lend his support to and publicly endorse the campaign to appoint a Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for the safety of journalists

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URGENT ACTION ALERTS
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Zehra Doğan, an ethnic Kurdish painter and journalist from Diyarbakır, Turkey, was sentenced to 2 years, 9 months and 22 days in prison for posting a painting to social media.

TAKE ACTION FOR ZEHRA DOGAN
Two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, face up to 14 years in prison after being charged by Myanmar authorities with violating the country's Official Secrets Act.

TAKE ACTION FOR WA LONE AND KYAW SOE OO
Imprisoned since 2013, photojournalist Shawkan's trial in Egypt was postponed again this month.

TAKE ACTION FOR SHAWKAN
Imprisoned in Saudi Arabia since 2012, Raif faces the constant threat of flogging as part of his sentence. 

TAKE ACTION FOR RAIF