Doha-based Al Jazeera Media Network is to take legal action against those responsible for deliberately jamming its satellite signal in Egypt, the company said yesterday.
The network has received a technical report compiled by Integral Systems, the global satellite company, revealing the source of the deliberate jamming that Al Jazeera has been continuously subject to since July 7 this year, it said in a statement.
The report showed that the interference comes from three locations east of the Egyptian capital of Cairo, and that the fourth site is west of the capital. The report also confirmed that three of the four sites are in areas of military installations.
The investigators found that jamming from that location began on July 7 and was focused on Al Jazeera’s Nile Sat frequencies, with the interference continuing.
“The Al Jazeera Network condemns the jamming of its operations and stresses that any attempt to disturb the broadcast will not affect the network’s quest to report facts and bring truth to viewers,” the statement said.
“In reaction to this clear violation of broadcasting rights, Al Jazeera has decided to take legal advice and action against those who are responsible for the jamming of the signal.
“Al Jazeera reports with the principles of media professionalism and objective journalism, and adheres to including all viewpoints without the exclusion of any party; to deprive people of their right to knowledge is an inherent violation of their basic human
rights,” the statement said.
The technical jamming of the channel adds to the continuous harassment practiced by the Egyptian authorities and their media campaigns against Al Jazeera, it said.
“This harassment is suffered by the network as a whole and its crew working on the ground. The tactics followed by Egyptian authorities include intimidation, threats, judicial action, raids on Al Jazeera offices and the imprisonment of some of the channel network’s staff without any charge,” the statement added.
