/ 4 July 2013

Egypt: Al Jazeera demands release of detained staff

Egypt: Al Jazeera Demands Release Of Detained Staff

"Twenty-eight Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr staff members were detained, with most released later. The channel's managing director Ayman Gaballah and Al Jazeera Arabic broadcast engineer Ahmad Hasan remain in custody however," read a statement released by the broadcaster on Thursday.

Security forces raided the Cairo offices of Al Jazeera's Egyptian television channel on Wednesday and detained some staff, hours after the army toppled president Mohamed Morsi, a journalist at the station said at the time.

Karim El-Assiuti at the time told Reuters his colleagues at the Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr channel were arrested while working in the studio. The station was prevented from broadcasting from a pro-Morsi rally and its crew there was also detained, he said.

"In the latest development, Associated Press Television News has been ordered to deny Al Jazeera channels access to their live services. Cairo News Company (CNC) has also been told to withhold access to broadcast equipment such as SNGs," the statement said.

'Cut-off from news and information'
According to Mostefa Souag, acting director general of Al Jazeera Media Network: "Ayman and Ahmad must be released unharmed immediately. Media offices should not be subject to raids and intimidation. Journalists should not be detained for doing their jobs.

"There are big events taking place in Egypt and the world tunes in to Al Jazeera at times like these. The viewing public will not accept being cut-off from news and information. Regardless of political views, the Egyptian people expect media freedoms to be respected and upheld."

The Egyptian arm of the Qatari-owned media company began broadcasting after the 2011 uprising that topped president Hosni Mubarak and has been accused by critics of being sympathetic towards Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

"We are grateful to all the media organisations giving us their support on these matters," Souag said, adding that "Al Jazeera has always reported comprehensively in Egypt, even in difficult circumstances. We will continue to do that with our usual approach of encompassing all opinions with accuracy, balance and fairness."  – Additional reporting by Reuters