Egypt denies New York Times journalist entry: report

Egyptian authorities have denied entry to a veteran New York Times journalist, the US-based newspaper reports.

David Kirkpatrick arrived in Cairo yesterday but was barred from entering the country, the newspaper says.

Security officials held him “incommunicado for hours before forcing him onto a flight back to London without explanation,” The New York Times reports.

Egypt’s interior ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

Kirkpatrick was the newspaper’s Cairo bureau chief from 2011 to 2015 and last year authored a book on the Arab Spring uprisings.

His writings have long stirred controversy and pro-government media in Egypt have previously criticized his reporting.

???? CAIRO — Egyptian officials detained NYT correspondent David Kirkpatrick after he arrived in Cairo on Monday, holding him incommunicado for hours before forcing him onto a flight back to London without explanation. https://t.co/XwuEKbMHxR @declanwalsh pic.twitter.com/Sd6ZsplGOa

— David S. Joachim (@davidjoachim) February 19, 2019

— AFP