Egypt's Journalists' Syndicate board said on Monday it rejects what it described as "a continuous attack on the freedom of the press" by the government.
The board also added that such attacks were apparent in recent complaints by the Ministry of Interior against journalists who published articles that were critical of the government.
Syndicate head Yehia Qallash said board members requested an urgent meeting with Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to express their concern over what they describe as "obvious restrictions of press freedoms in contradiction to Egypt's laws and constitution," according to Al-Ahram's Arabic news website.
The syndicate staged a demonstration at its Cairo headquarters on Wednesday and called for a partial strike to protest the jailing of journalists and shrinking press freedoms.
Earlier on Wednesday Egypt's interior ministry dropped complaints against journalists from two Egyptian private newspapers, Al-Masry Al-Youm and Al-Youm Al-Sabea, for publishing articles related to the police.
The syndicate had made earlier accusations against the government for cracking down on press freedoms.
Egyptian authorities occasionally imposes changes on the printing of editions of newspapers. In March, local newspaper Al-Watan was forced to omit an article accusing several state bodies of corruption - including the interior ministry.
Egyptian police have a long history of showing little tolerance towards dissenters. Local and international rights organisations have repeatedly called for a reform of its practices.
However, the interior ministry has maintained that it is committed to protecting human rights and implementing the rule of law.
Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/132860/Egypt/Politics-/Jour...
