Online journalist Ahmed Mahmoud Abdallah, currently editor of the news site Balady Net and formerly editor of the now extinct opposition newspaper Al-Shaab, has been arrested by Egyptian state security agents. His work has been confiscated and his website closed down.

Abdallah is a member of the Union of Egyptian Journalists and head of the Centre for Islamic Enlightenment, which encourages religious cooperation.

Abdallah is not the only journalist to have been recently arrested in Egypt; in October blogger Abdolkarim Nabil Seliman was held in custody for three weeks for criticism of the government and Islam. Seliman is also known as Kareem Amer and is a human rights campaigner who specifically focuses on eradicating violence and discrimination towards Muslim and Arab women.

The press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders has condemned the actions of the Egyptian state, stating the following: "Website journalists and bloggers should enjoy the same legal protection and respect as journalists working for traditional media ... The decision to arrest a journalist or blogger is serious and should only be taken in the course of transparent judicial proceedings, which was not the case with the two arrests of website and blog editors of the past six weeks."

Reporters Without Borders also called for Abdallah's immediate release.

Sources: journalism.co.uk, Reporters Without Borders