Sissi's Egypt cracks down on news websites

Egypt’s government, already accused of muzzling freedom of expression and opposition to President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, has blocked access to a host of news websites including Qatar’s Al-Jazeera.

Around 20 websites based in Qatar and Egypt have been inaccessible since last night, including the Doha newspapers Al-Watan and Al-Raya, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Ikhwan Online and Egypt-based Al-Sharq television which is close to the outlawed group.

Independent sites such as Mada Masr, which takes a strong stand against corruption, and Huffpost Arabi, the Arabic edition of the Huffington Post, have also been cut for Egyptian web surfers.

— AFP