Cairo, September 27, 2020
On the occasion of his 72nd birthday, and four months after his passing, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) and the family of the prominent journalist and unionist “Ragaai al-Mirghani” announced the launch of a website bearing his name http://elmerghani.info/. The website includes an overview of his trade union and journalism career, his positions and struggles in both fields, which have become part of the Egyptian press’s memory that needs to be documented, in addition to a glimpse of his life and his artistic and literary innovations, so that whoever is concerned with press freedom and trade union work can get acquainted with such a unique experience.
In a large celebration held yesterday by the family of the late union journalist, ANHRI announced the launching of the website in the presence of dozens of his fellow journalists, trade unionists, human rights activists and politicians, on the occasion of his 72nd birthday on 25 September 1948 and less than four months after his passing on 3 June 2020.
ANHRI launched the website as a way to document the 50-year experience of the late journalist in the field of journalism and trade union service, since he officially started working as an editor in the Middle East News Agency’s News department in 1970 until his death last June. Ragaai al-Mirghani never lagged behind the struggles and battles of journalism and trade union service, either on the Egyptian or Arab level; since he believes in the importance of press freedom and its role in creating a just and advanced community.
The late Ragaai al-Mirghani participated in many of the most important press and union fights and struggles, including the law No. 93 of 1995, known as the law assassinating journalism, during the rule of the ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak. Al-Mirghani took part in the drafting of a “press bill” to confront the government bill, cooperatively with a committee that included many veteran journalists and human rights activists, such as “Ahmed Nabil Al-Hilali, Abdulaziz Mohamad, Majdi Mohnna, Salah Eissa, Hussein Abdel-Razek , and others.
He also participated in drafting the journalistic Code of Ethics approved by the General Assembly of the Syndicate of Journalists in June 1996.
Following the January Revolution, he was elected as the general coordinator of the most important civil initiative to reform and develop the Egyptian media; the “National Coalition for Media Freedom – http://ncmf.info/” This initiative included dozens of journalists, newspapers and human rights institutions concerned with freedom of the press and independent journalists.
Among the many experiences and projects left by the late journalist is the Objective and Legal Standards guide which he prepared. The guide entitled “Correcting the Path of Journalists’ Trade Union Organizations – http://anhri.net/?p=100393” , includes specific formulations of the components of the basic and necessary regulations for trade union organizations for Arab journalists .
“We couldn’t allow such Egyptian and Arab experience and a rich heritage of journalistic and union work that late Ragaai al-Mirghani has left behind to be lost or erased from memory. The late journalist is a major part and component of the memory of journalistic and union struggles for every journalist and everyone concerned with freedom of the press in Egypt and the Arab world. It is part of our role to protect this experience and memory. ”
The launching of the website was officially announced yesterday at a huge celebration held by the family, students and colleagues of the late journalist. The website welcomes all the contributions of Egyptian and Arab journalists and whoever is concerned with press freedom, so as it becomes a good addition that could contribute to creating communities that respect and defend freedom of the press as the late journalist Ragaai al-Mirghani did.