Al Jazeera to sue Egypt

The Qatari media company Al Jazeera is suing the Egyptian government on the grounds that its crackdown on the channel and its journalists violates an investment agreement from 1999.

Al Jazeera retained the services of Carter-Ruck, a top libel firm that is better known for prosecuting journalists for libel, last September.

“Al Jazeera Media Network has served Egypt with a USD$150 million compensation claim on the grounds that its investments in the country have been damaged since July 2013,” said a statement on Al Jazeera’s website.

The case puts Al Jazeera forward as an international investor, and claims that the Egyptian government’s actions risked investments in the country.

Since the military overthrew former President Mohamed Morsi in July following mass protests demanding his resignation, the channel’s correspondents and equipment have been targeted by state authorities. Al Jazeera’s largely favorable coverage of Morsi’s tenure aroused the ire of the new military-backed interim government and its supporters.

In September, authorities raided one Al Jazeera office and ransacked it.

Four of Al Jazeera’s correspondents are facing trial after they were arrested in a case referred to as the “Marriott Cell” by state media, on charges that they belonged to the recently banned Muslim Brotherhood and distributed false news about Egypt.

The channel cited these incidents as part of “a sustained campaign of harassment and intimidation.”

In the journalists’ trial, the prosecutor’s evidence included footage of horses in Luxor and family photos of one of the correspondents.

Al Jazeera warned that if the government doesn’t broker a settlement, the case would go to the International Center for Settlement of Disputes.