Vancouver-based journalist Mohamed Fahmy says new job lets him tell stories other media should be covering

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The new CEO of the London-based Investigative Journal is Mohamed Fahmy.

The award-winning journalist, who spent 438 days in an Egyptian prison before he was released in 2015, says he’s proud to head up the international web publication which posts long-form stories often ignored by mainstream media.

He says it’s important to have this platform at a time when journalists are being targeted in unprecedented numbers with 80 colleagues murdered last year, while 348 were imprisoned.

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“There are at least five journalists working for TIJ and advising that have been either kidnapped, prosecuted or jailed while doing their job,” he says. “The journalists who are writing and advising for TIJ have been right on the frontline and they have experienced firsthand the price we journalists pay today in bringing the truth to the readers.”

Fahmy adds, since The Investigative Journal started last year, it’s exposed evidence of cyber-espionage in Qatar, as well as collusion between ISIS and the Turkish government. He’s now editing stories by fellow journalists covering some of the same terrorist groups he encountered when he was locked up with members of ISIS and Al Qaeda.

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“I haven’t been doing the journalism I wanted to do since I was released from prison in 2015,” he says. “I have been working on documentaries, but now, this is my chance to basically get on topical issues that the world is concerned about in the Middle East and in other countries.”

Fahmy tells NEWS 1130 he plans to use his experience in prison to expose injustice, and The Investigative Journal offers reporters a chance to dig deeper at a time when fake news forces readers to sift through social media to get to the truth.

“There’s so many topics that are being marginalized and we’re not seeing any of that on mainstream media.”

The Egyptian-born journalist adds the ongoing crisis in Syria is especially important to British Columbians who have helped many refugees get a fresh start here.

“People in Vancouver may be oceans away from the crisis that’s happening in the Middle East. It has reached right on our doorsteps. What’s going to happen if the war continues and the civil war continues in Syria? I mean, we’re hearing that ISIS has been defeated, but the reality is, it’s not over yet.”

Fahmy’s latest book, The Marriott Cell, documents the time he spent locked up in Egypt.

The Vancouver-based CEO is also seeking out possible contributors to The Investigative Journal.