Two journalists detained at Al-Azhar protests

Two journalists were arrested while covering a student protests in Al-Azhar University in support of the Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday.

American photojournalist Aaron Rose and Ahmed Nour, a freelance reporter with CBC and a researcher at Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression AFTE were both arrested by security forces.

Although prosecution ordered the release of Rose, Daily News Egypt Managing Editor Rana Allam said that officer at Nasr City Police Station refuses to release the photojournalist.

Meanwhile, a researcher at AFTE's Academic Freedoms Committee Mohamed Nagy confirmed that Nour will spend the night at Nasr City police station and will be referred to prosecution Monday morning.

Rose said on his Twitter account that he was arrested following the coverage of the protests in Al-Azhar University.

"I'm being taken to the prosecutor because my passport is at AUC getting my student visa renewed. Not feeling good about this. Would be a good time to send legal help, I think. Safe otherwise," Rose said in his last two tweets.

The arrests come amid increasing violations against journalists from authorities and civilians as well. An estimated nine journalists have been killed since the bloody dispersal of two protest camps full of Brotherhood supporters on August 14.

Another two journalists were referred to a military court recently. One of them is Sinai-based journalist Ahmed Abu Deraa, who received a 6-month suspended prison sentence for publishing false news.

A journalist working for the privately-owned daily Al-Watan, Hatem Aboul Nour, was sentenced to one year in prison for posing as an army officer while seeking information for a story he was reporting on.

Sinai-based journalist Mohamed Sabry also received a one-year prison sentence for illegally filming near a military zone. Sabry's case was investigated under the reign of ousted President Mohamed Morsi and he was sentenced two months ago.

Journalists have been also subject to physical threats and violence during the protests of the Muslim Brotherhood group. Supporters have beaten journalists and confiscated their cameras.

The latest case was an attack on Youm7 video journalist May Elshamy who was attacked and severely beaten by Brotherhood supporters on Friday. Protestors had accused Elshamy of working for a biased newspaper, and broke her arm.