In a speech at the opening session of the Conference of Arab Journalists XII, Salah Abdel-Maksoud, Egyptian Minister of Information, affirmed that the press, and media at large, secured a new victory when the current political leadership, headed by President Mohamed Morsi, cancelled precautionary custody of reporters and journalists as the first decision the President announced after taking legislative authority.

"We await the new law for journalists and freedom of the press, which I hope will provide for the abolition of imprisonment for publishing offenses, not only for journalists alone, but for all those who exercise their freedom of opinion and expression through publishing.

"The President has long emphasized his refusal of imprisonment for publishing offenses. No journalist will be locked up in cases of publishing; and no media professional will be locked up in a case of conscience or opinion."

Abdel-Maksoud pointed that he will seek, with all power, to prevent imprisonment for publishing crimes, for journalists and non-journalists, "Confining this right to journalists would be unconstitutional. Therefore, press freedom is for all citizens and not just journalists".