Egypt arrests Al-Jazeera journalist, channel calls for his ‘immediate release’

The Egyptian authorities announced on Saturday that they arrested an Egyptian journalist who works for the Qatari television channel Al-Jazeera.

He is charged with being a member of the banned Muslim brotherhood and being involved in attempts to overthrow the government. Al-Jazeera denounced the arrest of his collaborator in a message posted on Facebook.

Mahmoud Hussein, who works at the Al-Jazeera headquarters in Doha, was arrested at his home on Friday, days after returning to his country for holidays, officials and the chain said.

According to a prosecutor, Mahmoud is accused of inciting violence, publishing false information and belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood movement, banned in Egypt.

“Al-Jazeera holds Egyptian authorities responsible for the safety of Hussein and is calling for his immediate release,” the channel said in a statement hours after the arrest.

AFP reports that he had already been questioned on Tuesday when he arrived at Cairo airport but had been released.

Egyptian authorities have a long relation with Al Jazeera with respect to arrest of their employees, in 2013, Egypt arrested and imprisoned three Al-Jazeera journalists, including a Canadian and an Australian, resulting in a wave of international protest.

They were finally released and allowed to leave the country.