Cairo-based Al Jazeera crew arrested, accused of belonging to MB

Four Al Jazeera journalists were arrested early Monday on suspicion of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, the Qatari-based television network reported.

The Ministry of Interior, in a statement, identified the journalists as “elements of the Muslim Brotherhood.” According to the ministry, the National Security Apparatus learned that the journalists used two hotel rooms to hold meetings with other group members and “broadcast news that harms national security as well as spread false information for Al Jazeera without the approval of relevant authorities.“ 

The ministry’s statement said several cameras and other “seditious” print material were confiscated. 

Those arrested are Mohamed Fahmy, Al Jazeera’s English-language bureau chief, correspondent Peter Greste, producer Baher Mohamed and cameraman Mohamed Fawzy, according to Al Jazeera’s statement. Fahmy is of Egyptian origin but holds a Canadian passport, while Greste is Australian. Mohamed and Fawzy are both Egyptian. In its statement, Al Jazeera demanded the immediate release of the journalists.

Last week, Egypt’s interim government officially classified the Muslim Brotherhood as a “terrorist organization,” and moved to freeze its assets and close hundreds of its offices and associations nationwide.

Anyone who is proven to be a member of the outlawed organization, or propagates the teachings or ideologies of the group, either in writing or verbally, or possesses publications or recordings supporting the Brotherhood, could receive a sentence of five years or more in prison.

Last September, Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr, the Egyptian station, was officially banned from broadcasting after the investment minister asserted that the channel was not officially registered with the Egyptian authorities, and was broadcasting unlawfully.

Shortly after Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr was shut down, security forces raided Al Jazeera English’s Cairo bureau, confiscating broadcasting equipment and arresting the office’s financial manager, Mostafa Hawa, a source at the channel told Mada Masr. One day earlier, authorities deported three foreign Al Jazeera reporters for allegedly using unlicensed satellite transmitters and working in Egypt without the proper permits.

A recent study released by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said that Egypt was the ninth-worst offender in 2013 for jailing journalists. The list was led by Turkey, Iran and China.

At the time the study was released, in early December, Egyptian authorities had detained five journalists in 2013, as compared to none in 2012, the study reported.

Journalist Mahmoud Abdel Nabi, from the Rassd News Network, Al Jazeera correspondents Mohamed Bader and Abdallah al-Shami and freelance journalist Mahmoud Abou Zeid are currently in custody.

Following the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi on July 3, the military-supported government detained dozens of local and international journalists, particularly those viewed as critical of the government or sympathetic to Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Most of them were later released, the report said.