Al-Jazeera’s Egyptian TV station banned, premises raided

Reporters Without Borders condemns the raid by the security forces today on the offices of Al-Jazeera’s Egyptian TV channel, Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr, during which production and broadcasting equipment, including two vans and four cameras, were confiscated. The raid follow a statement by the ministry of investment, information and communications technology and media on 28 August declaring Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr to be illegal. Accusing the TV station of operating without a legal basis, inciting hatred and constituting a threat to national security, the ministry’s statement announced that it was banned it from operating in Egypt. Six of the 10 journalists are currently detained in Egypt work for Al-Jazeera. They are Mohamed Badr, arrested on 15 July, Abdallah Al-Shami, arrested on 14 August, and a crew consisting of reporter Wayne Hay, cameraman Adil Bradlow and producers Russ Finn and Baher Mohamed, who were arrested in Cairo on 27 August. The Cairo offices of two other news media have been the targets of raids by the Egyptian security forces in the past six weeks: the Iranian TV station Al-Alam on 20 July and Turkey’s Ihlas News Agency (IHA) on 20 August.