Al Jazeera condemns Egypt’s decision to add some of its journalists to a terrorism blacklist #Jazeera #condemns #Egypts #decision #add #journalists #terrorism #blacklist

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The pan-Arab news network Al Jazeera has condemned a recent decision by Egyptian authorities to brand some of its journalists as terrorists.

The media outlet, which is owned by the Gulf state of Qatar, said that “a number” of its Egyptian journalists and presenters had been added to a list of alleged terrorists published in an official newspaper earlier this month following a ruling by the Cairo Criminal Court.

“Al Jazeera Media Network strongly denounces the recent move by the Egyptian authorities to reinstate a number of its journalists onto a newly crafted terrorism list,” the network said in a statement Tuesday.

This is a locator map for Sudan with its capital, Khartoum. (AP Photo)

Sudan’s military says a civilian plane crashed at an airport in the eastern coastal city of Port Sudan, killing nine people including four military personnel on board.

This photo provided by Marise George, shows her brother, Patrick George Zaki, top center, a prominent Egyptian rights activist with ties to Italy, celebrating with his family, Thursday, July 20, 2023, outside the Dakahlia security headquarters in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of Cairo, Egypt, after he was pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi along with five other people, according to the country's Official Gazette. Patrick was released from jail Thursday, days after he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, according to his family and a rights defender. (Marise George via AP)

Relatives and a rights defender say two prominent figures from Egypt’s human rights community have been released from prison.

Protesters demonstrate in support of Patrick Zaki by the Piazza del Nettuno, in Bologna, Italy, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. An Egyptian court sentenced Zaki, a rights activist, on Tuesday to three years in prison over an opinion article he wrote in 2019 in a case that renewed global attention to Egypt's intolerance of government critics. He was arrested in February 2020 shortly after landing in Cairo on a short trip home from Italy where he was a postgraduate student at the University of Bologna. (Guido Calamosca/LaPresse via AP)

Egypt’s state-run media are saying that President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has pardoned a group of prisoners, including two prominent rights activists.

In this image provided by Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), human rights activist Patrick George Zaki, who has been imprisoned for nearly two years, hugs his sister after his release outside the police station in Nile Delta city of Mansoura, Egypt, on Dec. 8, 2021. An Egyptian court has sentenced Patrick George Zaki to three years in prison over an opinion article he wrote in 2019. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the court on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 convicted Zaki of “disseminating false news” related to his article about alleged discrimination against Coptic Christians in Egypt. (EIPR via AP)

An Egyptian court has sentenced a rights activist to three years in prison over an opinion article he wrote in 2019.

It also called for the release of two reporters — Bahaa Al-Din Ibrahim, who was arrested in February 2020, and Rabee Al-Sheikh, who was arrested in August 2021. Both had traveled back to Egypt from Qatar to visit family, the network said.

Egypt launched a crackdown on Al Jazeera after the 2013 military overthrow of an elected but divisive government dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood group. Egypt considers the Brotherhood a terrorist group and accused both Qatar and Al Jazeera of supporting it.

Egypt revoked Al Jazeera’s media credentials, raided its offices and arrested several reporters. The arrest and trial of three Al Jazeera English journalists — Australian Peter Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed — sparked an international outcry.

The three received 10-year prison sentences, but were later released in 2015.

Egypt and Qatar recently restored ties as part of a wider rapprochement among Arab states, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi visiting the country and meeting with its ruling emir in September. In May, Egypt released an Al Jazeera journalist who had been held since 2019.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many Al Jazeera reporters had been added to Egypt’s terrorism blacklist, which is updated every five years. The broadcaster didn’t provide specifics, and the newly updated list includes dozens of names. There was no comment from Egyptian officials.

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