GERMANY-AL JAZEERA/EGYPT Protesters demonstrate against arrest of Al Jazeera journalist in Berlin

Record ID: 151914

  • Title: GERMANY-AL JAZEERA/EGYPT Protesters demonstrate against arrest of Al Jazeera journalist in Berlin
  • Date: 22nd June 2015
  • Summary: PLACARD READING (German): "FREEDOM FOR AHMED MANSOUR - FREEDOM FOR THE PRESS" WITH PHOTO OF MANSOUR
  • Embargoed: 7th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9PO45H0QKMAU50OE44KJNW0XU
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A group of protesters gathered in front of the state prosecutor's office in Berlin on Monday (June 22), demonstrating against the arrest of one of the pan-Arab television network Al Jazeera's best known journalists, Ahmed Mansour.
    Mansour, a leading talk show host on the Qatari channel's Arabic service, was arrested at a Berlin airport on Saturday (June 20), the latest Al Jazeera journalist to be pursued by the Egyptian authorities.
    He was arrested in Berlin at Egypt's request, in a case that puts Germany in an awkward position as it wrestles with balancing business interests and human rights, and also renews questions about Cairo's crackdown on dissent.
    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 calls a terrorist group.
    Both the television channel and the Brotherhood reject the allegations made by Egyptian authorities.
    A Cairo court sentenced Mansour, who has dual Egyptian and British citizenship, 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 veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
    Jazeera said at the time the charge was false and an attempt to silence Mansour, known to viewers across the Arab world.
    Critics accuse the West of turning a blind eye towards what they say is Egypt's crackdown on dissent and freedom of speech in favour of improved economic ties and security cooperation.
    A small group of protesters demonstrated their unhappiness with the situation outside the state prosecutor's office in Berlin.
    Holding Egyptian flags and banners, they called for Mansour to be released.
    "My criticism on the government here in Germany, on Frau [Mrs] Merkel especially, is that she tolerates such a situation when a journalist, a free journalist has to be arrested only because of his opinion, because of his work, which he is doing all the time to explore the bad situation in Egypt and the old attack of human rights and freedom of speech and journalists. And all these things have been attacked in Egypt in a bad way and for this I cannot understand how Frau [Mrs] Merkel tolerates that and still keeping the arresting of Mr Ahmed Mansour for more than two days now," of the German-Egyptian Union for Democracy, Ali Al-Awady, said. He has reportedly been in contact with Mr Mansour since his arrest.
    "I have been in Germany for almost forty years now and I hear every day and night about free decisions, freedom, democracy and then I see that a journalist is arrested because he is against the military coup in Egypt and against Sisi, and he is arrested here. Everything I have learnt here in the last forty years has been thrown in the rubbish," protester Yousouf Yousouf told Reuters TV in Berlin.
    Mansour's arrest may bring to a head Germany's divisions over how to deal with Egypt, a valuable political ally and business partner accused of widespread human rights abuses.
    Sisi visited Germany this month at Chancellor Angela Merkel's invitation, but the speaker of Germany's parliament canceled a meeting with him, citing rights violations in Egypt.
    During the visit, German company Siemens signed an 8-billion-euro deal ($9 billion) with Egypt to supply gas and wind power plants.
    Egypt released Australian Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste in February this year after 400 days in prison on charges that included aiding a terrorist group.
    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.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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