GERMANY-AL JAZEERA/EGYPT/RELEASE Al Jazeera journalist rejoices as Germany sets him free despite Egypt detention request

Record ID: 151875

  • Title: GERMANY-AL JAZEERA/EGYPT/RELEASE Al Jazeera journalist rejoices as Germany sets him free despite Egypt detention request
  • Date: 22nd June 2015
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (JUNE 22, 2015) (REUTERS) FENCE OUTSIDE MOABIT PRISON AL JAZEERA JOURNALIST, AHMED MANSOUR LEAVING THE PRISON AND WAVING, AS CROWDS CHEER IN THE BACKGROUND SUPPORTERS AND JOURNALISTS OUTSIDE EXTERIOR OF MOABIT PRISON, SUPPORTERS CHEERING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AL JAZEERA JOURNALIST, AHMED MANSOUR, SAYING: "I thank every honourable person who helped me get out
  • Embargoed: 7th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADMSLX667WNACRJFDVPXATBE91
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A prominent Al Jazeera journalist was released in Germany on Monday (June 23), two days after he was detained at Berlin airport at Egypt's request.
    Ahmed Mansour, one of Al 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.
    Crowds of journalists and supporters gathered outside the Berlin prison as he exited, thanking his employer, and the international media.
    "Thank you so much for every free people around the world who support me these last days. Thank you so much for German judges and attorney general. They support me, they are free people. Not my judges in Egypt," he said.
    He then had to fight his way through the crowds to a car, before driving off.
    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 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 President Abdel Fattah al-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.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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