By Iqbal Tamimi

The Journalists' union in Egypt continued its intensive efforts to release female colleague Shaima Adel, who has been detained in Sudan since the second of July.

Mamdouh Alwali, Chair of Journalists Syndicate in Egypt, has contacted Mohiuddin Tetaoy, Chair of Sudanese journalists, who promised to seek her release through the Sudanese authorities.

There were several other communications between journalists and union officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt and the Egyptian Embassy in Sudan and the Sudanese ambassador in Cairo, in order to speed her release.

Mr. Badawi, Wafd Party leader, pointed out that Shaima Adel who works as a journalist at ‘Alwatan’ newspaper, will be released soon, following a meeting between Badawi and Ali Nafia, Assistant of President of the Republic of Sudan.

Badawi said at a press conference held at the Wafd Party headquarters on Tuesday that the Sudanese Embassy claimed that Shaima entered Sudan without carrying any identity cards that proves she is a journalist working at El Watan newspaper.

Director of Arab Women Media Watch Centre in UK, Iqbal Tamimi, condemned such unnecessary procedures that reflect harassment of colleagues, targeting journalists and hindering their work and delaying their release. Tamimi has denounced the continued detention of journalists and violating their rights for no logical reason and the fact that journalists fates are always hanging on the scale of campaigning by media professionals and colleagues to support the release of detained journalists which make helping detained free-lance journalists who are not coordinating with media organisations even more difficult.

Dozens of Journalists marched from the journalists' union towards the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cairo, demanding the release of journalist Shaima Adel, who has been detained in Sudan while reporting on the last events.

Civilians and family members of the detained journalist joined the march, carrying banners that read: "Dear brothers, why place us in the enemy camp" and called for President Mohamed Morsi intervention, while Shaima’s mother announced an open hunger strike, pending the return of her daughter, as journalists began an open sit-in at the gate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in solidarity with their detained colleague.

Regarding a statements issued by the Chair of Sudanese journalists who said that the security services told him that the reasons for detaining the Egyptian journalist has nothing to do with publishing news and that she is under investigation for another case along with others', her sister, Fatima, said 'this is not true, if that was the case, why they did not publish the reasons of her detention.".

On the other hand, as soon as Egyptian President, Mohammad Mursi announced today, 11 July 2012 through his twitter account that he will seek a pardon from the King of Saudi Arabia for Jizawi, the detained Egyptian lawyer in Saudi Arabia. Journalists in Egypt started tweeting, demanding of him to secure the release of Shaima. Gameela Ismail, a politician and a journalist tweeted urging the Egyptian President to act fast and release Shima before what she described as 'Shaima  becomes another ‘Jizawi’.