Fahmy Foundation founder, Mohamed Fahmy launches The Investigative Journal 

"My time in prison reminded me of the importance of work NGOs do in civil society and how they become lifeline to people in situations like that, for innocent people behind bars.
​That's what inspired me to get involved in advocacy & activism."
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The Investigative Journal will hold its official launch on July 9, 2019 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at London’s SouthWark Cathedral. Members of TIJ’s staff and board will host prominent journalists, academics, and members of the community to celebrate the establishment of this longform investigative journalism publication.

Journalist Maria Ressa will provide the keynote address. Ressa is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Rappler, an online news site in the Philippines, and was among the journalists named TIME’s 2018 Person of the Year. Award-winning Australian journalist Yalda Hakim, news anchor, documentary maker, and BBC World News presenter and correspondent, Yalda Hakim, will moderate the event.
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WHO WE ARE


​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.
WHAT WE DO
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The Fahmy Foundation Film Fund

We will make it happen
Fahmy Foundation has launched a film fund to help filmmakers produce and distribute short films that incorporate and focus on the following topics:
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  • Human rights violations worldwide
  • Press Freedom
  • Personal stories of injustice and violation of civil rights
  • Violations of privacy through electronic hacking
Interested candidates will have the opportunity to pitch their stories to award-winning journalists and filmmakers affiliated with the Fahmy Foundation.

Our team of award-winning journalists and filmmakers will help you conceptualize, produce, and bring your film alive.

The Fahmy Foundation will help fund the film and sponsor the filmmakers to travel inside Canada or overseas.

Please send a message including your contacts and a representative will contact you with further instructions for submission.

Our Projects

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

Our Campaigns

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.

Take Action

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! ​
EMERGENCY
FUND
Donate to the Fahmy Foundation Emergency Fund and help provide:
To apply for the emergency fund, please contact us & include:
The Fahmy Foundation is dedicated to
providing assistance to imprisoned 
journalists and prisoners of conscience
around the world. 
legal support 
bail funds
transportation fees for families
medical assistance
food and clothing for prisoners
•  Your name 
•  The imprisoned / detained person’s name
•  Details of the case
•  Contact information (email and phone)
URGENT ACTION ALERTS
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Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo

Imprisoned in Myanmar
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.

Raif Badawi

Imprisoned in Saudi Arabia
Imprisoned in Saudi Arabia since 2012, Raif faces the constant threat of flogging as part of his sentence. ​
PRESS FREEDOM NEWS
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Mohamed Fahmy defends Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar

Mohamed reflects on his own prison term as a journalist and on the two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who were detained in Myanmar on Dec. 12, 2017. At the time of their arrests, they had been working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in a village in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

​2019 World Press Freedom Index – A cycle of fear

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

Countries with a legal duty to provide consular services 

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

After a year-long 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. 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.

READ MORE

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

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

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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Joining the fight against Bill C-51

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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World Press Freedom

  • 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 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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