Head of Egypt's Press Syndicate Diaa Rashwan (R) holds his pen aloft during a protest at the Press Syndicate in downtown Cairo to condemn the recent violence targeting journalists in the field, Thursday, April 17, 2014 (Photo: Bassam El-Zogby)
Head of the Journalists' Syndicate Diaa Rashwan sent a request to Prosecutor-General Hisham Barakat on Monday demanding the release of Al-Jazeera reporter Abdallah El-Shamy.
The press syndicate's legal consultant Sayed Abu Zeid told Ahram Online that Rashwan had previously met with the prosecutor-general and demanded the release of all detained journalists.
Rashwan also managed to move journalists Ahmed Ezz El-Din and Hani Salah El-Din from Al-Aqrab high security prison to Tora Prison, added Abu Zeid.
Several journalists have been arrested in the past year and are currently facing trial.
According to a December 2013 report by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least six reporters were also killed that same year, placing Egypt third on the list of "deadliest places" for journalists, after Syria and Iraq.
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