GERMANY-AL JAZEERA/EGYPT/PROSECUTOR Germany frees Al Jazeera journalist despite Egypt detention, state prosecutor says

Record ID: 151874

  • Title: GERMANY-AL JAZEERA/EGYPT/PROSECUTOR Germany frees Al Jazeera journalist despite Egypt detention, state prosecutor says
  • Date: 22nd June 2015
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (JUNE 22, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF STATE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE DOOR TO STATE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE VARIOUS OF SPOKESPERSON FOR THE STATE PROSECUTOR, MARTIN STELTNER, AT HIS DESK (SOUNDBITE) (German) SPOKESPSERSON FOR THE STATE PROSECUTOR, MARTIN STELTNER, SAYING: "The Berlin state prosecutor ordered the person concerned to be released and that's w
  • Embargoed: 7th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAC7JDI7GCBKS4DGIU3VEFX6BSX
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A prominent Al Jazeera journalist was released in Germany on Monday (June 22), the television network and German authorities said, two days after he was detained at Berlin airport at Egypt's request.
    Ahmed Mansour, one of Jazeera's best known journalists, was released without charge, the pan-Arab television channel's Berlin correspondent Eissa Taibi said.
    An official at the Berlin state prosecutor's office confirmed his release.
    "The Berlin state prosecutor ordered the person concerned to be released and that's what happened, the person concerned was released. Earlier we checked the facts for the release with the relevant federal authorities. This did not only include the legal aspects but also the diplomatic aspects," spokesperson for the state prosecutor's office, Martin Steltner, said.
    A Cairo court sentenced Mansour to 15 years in prison in absentia last year on a charge of torturing a lawyer in 2011 in Tahrir Square, the focus of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. Mansour and Al Jazeera deny the charge.
    Earlier on Monday the German government had played down the chances of him being extradited to Egypt, citing concerns about the Egyptian legal process, including group sentencings and doubts about due process.
    Last year an Egyptian court jailed three Al Jazeera journalists on charges that included aiding a terrorist group. One of them, Australian Peter Greste, was released in February after 400 days in prison.
    Mohamed Fahmy, a naturalised Canadian who has given up his Egyptian citizenship, and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were released on bail in February after spending more than a year in custody and are being retried.
    Egypt accuses Al Jazeera of being a mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Qatar-backed Islamist movement that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi removed from power in 2013 when he was army chief and denounces as a terrorist group.
    Mansour's case puts Germany in an awkward position as it tries to strike a balance between business interests and human rights.
    Chancellor Angela Merkel was criticised by opposition parties and rights groups for hosting Sisi earlier this month. During that visit, German industrial group Siemens signed an 8 billion euro deal with Egypt to supply it with gas and wind power plants.
    Since Sisi took power in 2013 and won a presidential election the following year, courts in Egypt have issued scores of death sentences against Muslim Brotherhood members, including the group's leadership.
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