Egypt detains Al Jazeera journalist for ‘sedition’

By Hussein Qabani

CAIRO

Egyptian authorities have detained an Al Jazeera journalist for 15 days for allegedly instigating sedition and incitement against the state, a judicial source said Sunday.

Mahmoud Hussein, a producer at the Doha-based Al Jazeera television, was detained last week during a family visit in Cairo.

On Saturday, the supreme state security prosecution ordered him to remain in custody for 15 days on charges of publishing news instigating sedition and incitement against the state, the source said on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorized to speak to media.

A security source said Hussein was placed at Tora prison in southern Cairo.

In a statement, the interior ministry said Hussein was supervising a media campaign by Al Jazeera television to broadcast “false news and fabricated reports and documentaries” with a view to instigating sedition and incitement against state institutions.

There was no comment from the Doha-based television on the allegations.

Egyptian authorities accuse Al Jazeera of running a coverage favorable to the Muslim Brotherhood, the group of former president Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted in a 2013 coup.

Qatar, where Al Jazeera television is located, has decried Morsi’s ouster and still shelters many Brotherhood members, who fled a harsh crackdown launched by Egyptian authorities since 2013.