Al Jazeera Journalists Detained in Egypt

By Merrill Knox 

Four Cairo-based journalists for Al Jazeera are being held in Egypt because of alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Washington Post reports:

The reporters, including one Australian national, are accused of “harming national security” through links to the recently banned Muslim Brotherhood organization, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The arrests are the latest development in a rapidly escalating crackdown against the Brotherhood, an Islamist group that the government last week declared a “terrorist organization.”

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Egyptian police said the Al Jazeera English bureau — which had been broadcasting from a suite at the Marriott hotel following the closure of its Arabic-language sister channel during a military coup in July — was being used as a meeting point and press center for members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The journalists — identified by Al Jazeera as correspondent Peter Greste, producers Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed and cameraman Mohamed Fawzy — were arrested during raids Sunday night. Al Jazeera is demanding their immediate release.

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