Dr Souag flanked by Mansour, right, and another Al Jazeera staff member talking to reporters yesterday.

Al Jazeera Network has been subjected to an unprecedented campaign of oppression in Egypt to force it abandon its professional standards of reporting events truly, Dr Mostepha Souag, acting director general of the network, said yesterday.

He said that three Al Jazeera reporters are currently in an Egyptian jail after they have been sentenced to 7-10 years imprisonment for their professionalism in covering news.

He asked the Egyptian authorities to release them immediately as true democracy could not be built by
suppressing civil liberties.

“If they are targeting Al Jazeera, they could resolve the issue with Al Jazeera but they should not prosecute its reporters and accuse them falsely. The issue involves humanitarian implications and we are more than 100% sure that our reporters are innocent and they would be eventually released anyway. We welcome all ways that would lead to their release,” said Dr Souag, pointing out that Al Jazeera has launched an intensive media campaign in cooperation with humanitarian and human rights organisations worldwide to promote the cause of the jailed journalists.

Regarding the claims that Al Jazeera has no valid licence from the Egyptian authorities to operate in Egypt, he affirmed that the licence has been renewed and “it is valid until May 2016 and it covers all the channels and networks
under Al Jazeera”.

Ahmad Mansour, Al Jazeera presenter who was recently sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail by an Egyptian court, said that he did not know any thing about the accusation of beating or torturing the said lawyer at Tahrir Square during the January 2011
uprising in Cairo.

“I have no relationship with this story, I only heard about this from the newspapers. They could not find fault with my professional life so they made up this to convict me. I have presented more than 1,000 hours of coverage and media programmes to promote the rights of people in Egypt, Libya, Syria and other Arab countries. My professional record is well-known,” stressed Masour.

He claimed that though he was in Cairo taking part in the uprising and supporting people during the period mentioned, he was denied access to Tahrir Square on that particular day of the incident.

“They prosecuted me with criminal charges so Interpol could pursue me and I would not be able to continue to promote facts. However, I am only part of Al Jazeera and would continue to present facts to people,” he said.

Mansour said that the Egyptian authorities has put all his properties and possessions in Egypt on hold and has launched a ferocious campaign against him in their media to undermine his otherwise well-established reputation.

He said he is determined to take every step to clear his name and have the unjust ruling abolished. He described the case as
politically motivated.

 

 

 

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