Al Jazeera Taking Legal Action Against Egypt

By Merrill Knox 

Following a shutdown of Al Jazeera’s offices in Egypt, the Qatar-backed network is taking legal action against the Egyptian government in international courts. The network says Egypt has detained its journalists and jammed its signals in a “sustained campaign of harassment and intimidation.” More from Al Jazeera’s website:

In a statement on Thursday, Al Jazeera said it had instructed London-based lawyers, Carter-Ruck, to take action in international courts and before the United Nations to protect its journalists and their right to report from Egypt.

“Al Jazeera cannot permit this situation to continue. The right of journalists to report freely in situations of this kind is protected by international law and is reaffirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 1738 (2006),” a spokesman said.

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“However, the new regime in Egypt has disregarded this fundamental right and seems determined to silence all independent journalism and reporting in the country, leaving only the voices of its own state-controlled media to be heard.”

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