Al-Jazeera journalist detained in Berlin on Egyptian warrant

[Lite Beer]

Al-Jazeera journalist detained in Berlin on Egyptian warrant

CAIRO (AP) — A prominent Al-Jazeera Arabic journalist was detained Saturday in Germany over an Egyptian arrest warrant, the Qatar-based broadcaster reported, the latest in a long series of legal entanglements between Egypt and its satellite news channels.

Ahmed Mansour, a senior journalist with its Arabic service, was detained at 1320 GMT (9 a.m. EDT) while trying to board a Qatar Airways flight at Berlin's Tegel airport heading to Doha, the station reported. It said he previously had been sentenced in absentia in Egypt to 15 years in prison over allegedly torturing an unnamed lawyer in Tahrir Square in 2011, a charge both he and the channel rejected.

While not identifying Mansour by name, German police spokesman Meik Grauer said authorities detained a 52-year-old Egyptian-British journalist and that prosecutors would look into the arrest warrant Sunday.

In October, Al-Jazeera said Interpol had rejected an Egyptian request to put out a "red notice" for Mansour's arrest.

The network's Acting Director General Mostefa Souag called for Manour's immediate release, in a statement released Saturday evening.

"Other countries must not allow themselves to be tools of this media oppression, least of all those that respect freedom of the media as does Germany," Soaug said.

Mansour recently conducted an interview with the head of the Nusra Front, the al-Qaida branch fighting in Syria's civil war. In a Facebook post Saturday night, he said showed German authorities an email from Interpol saying he was not wanted by them.

Egypt and Qatar have had tense relations since 2013, when the Egyptian military ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi amid massive protests. Doha is a strong backer of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. Cairo accuses Al-Jazeera of being a mouthpiece for Morsi's supporters, charges denied by the broadcaster.

In December 2013, Egyptian security forces raided a hotel room used by Al-Jazeera English, arresting three journalists and later convicting of them of being part of a terrorist group and airing falsified footage intended to damage national security in a widely criticized trial.

Acting bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, who has Canadian citizenship, and Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed are free on bail amid a retrial. Australian journalist Peter Greste was deported in February.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-06-21

[Steely Dan]

Good, Egypt is completely correct about this. The Muslim brotherhood are Islamic supremacists, out of which both Hamas and Al Qaeda were born. Qatar who bankroll Al Jazeera equally bankrolled Hamas to the tune of 1.6billion dollars, which was used to fun a network of tunnels under the Israeli and Egyptian borders used for arms smuggling and planned terrorist attacks.

Glad The Germans did the right thing, I somehow doubt they would have been arrested in the U.S at present.

[sanuk711]

Good, Egypt is completely correct about this. The Muslim brotherhood are Islamic supremacists, out of which both Hamas and Al Qaeda were born. Qatar who bankroll Al Jazeera equally bankrolled Hamas to the tune of 1.6billion dollars, which was used to fun a network of tunnels under the Israeli and Egyptian borders used for arms smuggling and planned terrorist attacks.

Glad The Germans did the right thing, I somehow doubt they would have been arrested in the U.S at present.

"The Muslim brotherhood are Islamic supremacists"---

Are you talking about the first democratically & first civilian person elected in the history of Egypt --??

I mean you don't (& I certainly don't) have to agree with their policies ----but isn't all this what its supposed to be about ?

A completely democratic election (according to the UN observers) voted in a party that we don't agree with.

This what the other 3 Al Jazeera journalist (1 Australian-2 Egyptians) were also jailed for pointing out last year.

So basically Dan--the Democracy thing.....if we don't agree with the outcome is just BS.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Brotherhood_in_post-Mubarak_electoral_politics_of_Egypt

The post-Mubarak ruling establishment, attempting to thwart the Brotherhood's claim to governing, went as far as nullifying the outcome of the national parliamentary election under a legal pretext. However, one of the Brotherhood's leaders, Mohamed Morsi, was recognized as the winner of the presidential election that followed and assumed office on June 30, 2012. Morsi became the first democratically elected and first civilian President of Egypt

[Ulysses G.]

The Nazis were elected democratically too. That does not mean that evil should be allowed to stand, when it becomes clear what it is,

[Steely Dan]

Good, Egypt is completely correct about this. The Muslim brotherhood are Islamic supremacists, out of which both Hamas and Al Qaeda were born. Qatar who bankroll Al Jazeera equally bankrolled Hamas to the tune of 1.6billion dollars, which was used to fun a network of tunnels under the Israeli and Egyptian borders used for arms smuggling and planned terrorist attacks.

Glad The Germans did the right thing, I somehow doubt they would have been arrested in the U.S at present.

"The Muslim brotherhood are Islamic supremacists"---

Are you talking about the first democratically & first civilian person elected in the history of Egypt --??

I mean you don't (& I certainly don't) have to agree with their policies ----but isn't all this what its supposed to be about ?

A completely democratic election (according to the UN observers) voted in a party that we don't agree with.

This what the other 3 Al Jazeera journalist (1 Australian-2 Egyptians) were also jailed for pointing out last year.

So basically Dan--the Democracy thing.....if we don't agree with the outcome is just BS.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Brotherhood_in_post-Mubarak_electoral_politics_of_Egypt

The post-Mubarak ruling establishment, attempting to thwart the Brotherhood's claim to governing, went as far as nullifying the outcome of the national parliamentary election under a legal pretext. However, one of the Brotherhood's leaders, Mohamed Morsi, was recognized as the winner of the presidential election that followed and assumed office on June 30, 2012. Morsi became the first democratically elected and first civilian President of Egypt

I suggest you ask the Copts what they thought of the Morsi government, and the rape, murder and kidnapping campaign their supporters ran. Try asking anyone in Egypt's tourism industry which Islamists completely shut down ruining the Country's finances. Then we have Sinai which became a hotbed of terrorist activity which the Morsi government turned a blind eye to. By the way whether you or I liked the outcome of the Egyptian election is less important than what the Egyptian people thought, getting rid of Morsi became extremely popular very quickly. The Islamist lite party in Tunisia where the bizarrely named Arab spring began has also been turfed out.

[Scott]

An off-topic post has been removed.

[Seastallion]

Good, Egypt is completely correct about this. The Muslim brotherhood are Islamic supremacists, out of which both Hamas and Al Qaeda were born. Qatar who bankroll Al Jazeera equally bankrolled Hamas to the tune of 1.6billion dollars, which was used to fun a network of tunnels under the Israeli and Egyptian borders used for arms smuggling and planned terrorist attacks.

Glad The Germans did the right thing, I somehow doubt they would have been arrested in the U.S at present.

Let me get this straight....Qatar finances AJ, but because Qatar also fund Hamas, a reporter for AJ must be a baddy and must be guilty and must be gaoled for 15 years because he must have tortured someone in Madan Tahir? Because Qatar give money to Hamas, anyone else receiving money from Qatar, and their employees, must also be bad.

Wow!

The Germans will release him because this has nothing to do with the Muslim Brotherhood and everything to do with Egypt suppressing journalists.

[samran]

Good, Egypt is completely correct about this. The Muslim brotherhood are Islamic supremacists, out of which both Hamas and Al Qaeda were born. Qatar who bankroll Al Jazeera equally bankrolled Hamas to the tune of 1.6billion dollars, which was used to fun a network of tunnels under the Israeli and Egyptian borders used for arms smuggling and planned terrorist attacks.

Glad The Germans did the right thing, I somehow doubt they would have been arrested in the U.S at present.

Let me get this straight....Qatar finances AJ, but because Qatar also fund Hamas, a reporter for AJ must be a baddy and must be guilty and must be gaoled for 15 years because he must have tortured someone in Madan Tahir? Because Qatar give money to Hamas, anyone else receiving money from Qatar, and their employees, must also be bad.

Wow!

The Germans will release him because this has nothing to do with the Muslim Brotherhood and everything to do with Egypt suppressing journalists.

Didn't the US fund bin laden in his early days and be buddy buddy with Saddam?

Quick, arrest Steely Dan!

[Chicog]

The Morsi government was elected, but removed in a coup. The US have stood by and done nothing because it backs the military.

Given that the current government is effectively a dictatorship, I wouldn't believe a word of what they say and I would argue that this warrant is just a ploy to silence their critics.

Germany are foolish for getting involved in it. They must have an ulterior motive, probably big business deals for the things like power stations and the like knowing them.

Edited June 21, 2015 by Chicog

[Baerboxer]

The Nazis were elected democratically too. That does not mean that evil should be allowed to stand, when it becomes clear what it is,

I agree with you mate, but many on here seem to think a government can do anything they like as long as they get elected first.

[sanuk711]

The Nazis were elected democratically too. That does not mean that evil should be allowed to stand, when it becomes clear what it is,

They weren't Ulysses.........elected to govern I mean--unless they teach you differently in American schools.

Federal elections were held in Germany on 5 March 1933. The ruling Nazi Party, led by Adolf Hitler – Chancellor since 30 January – registered a large increase in votes, again emerging as the largest party by far. Nevertheless they failed to obtain an absolute majority in their own right

To gain absolute power, Hitler instead succeeded in passing the Enabling Act on 23 March with the support of all non-socialist parties, which effectively made Hitler dictator of Germany--Within months, the Nazis banned all other parties and dissolved the (Parliament) Reichstag

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_federal_election,_March_1933

[sanuk711]

I suggest you ask the Copts what they thought of the Morsi government, and the rape, murder and kidnapping campaign their supporters ran. Try asking anyone in Egypt's tourism industry which Islamists completely shut down ruining the Country's finances. Then we have Sinai which became a hotbed of terrorist activity which the Morsi government turned a blind eye to. By the way whether you or I liked the outcome of the Egyptian election is less important than what the Egyptian people thought, getting rid of Morsi became extremely popular very quickly. The Islamist lite party in Tunisia where the bizarrely named Arab spring began has also been turfed out.

OK Dan.....I'll ask the tourist industry & the groups (Copts..etc) you have named that were opposed to that party anyway---then I'll make an educated guess on that basses of those people.

Look Dan no one is supporting the Muslim Brotherhood -- but please don't pretend that you support democracy either--(just the ones you agree with) the unelected military that took over are not exactly clean skins--& I will be quite surprised if Germany deports that reporter to join the other 2 that are still in jail.

[Asiantravel]

There is something fishy when they say he was taken into custody at Berlin Tegel airport by police citing an Interpol request when at the same time Interpol had previously rejected an Egyptian request to put out a red notice for the arrest of Ahmed Mansour

" The Interpol itself cleared my name with this document that I have in my hands"

So much for justice in Egypt. Laughable

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/21/ahmed-mansour-germany-detains-al-jazeera-journalist-on-egyptian-warrant

Edited June 21, 2015 by Asiantravel

[Asiantravel]

Good, Egypt is completely correct about this. The Muslim brotherhood are Islamic supremacists, out of which both Hamas and Al Qaeda were born. Qatar who bankroll Al Jazeera equally bankrolled Hamas to the tune of 1.6billion dollars, which was used to fun a network of tunnels under the Israeli and Egyptian borders used for arms smuggling and planned terrorist attacks.

Glad The Germans did the right thing, I somehow doubt they would have been arrested in the U.S at present.

What on earth do you mean good?

So the rules of natural justice mean nothing to you then?

[FangFerang]

Good, Egypt is completely correct about this. The Muslim brotherhood are Islamic supremacists, out of which both Hamas and Al Qaeda were born. Qatar who bankroll Al Jazeera equally bankrolled Hamas to the tune of 1.6billion dollars, which was used to fun a network of tunnels under the Israeli and Egyptian borders used for arms smuggling and planned terrorist attacks.

Glad The Germans did the right thing, I somehow doubt they would have been arrested in the U.S at present.

I hope you enjoy being wrong. The Muslim Brotherhood is less than eight years old. They funded NONE of the groups you listed, many of which are fifty years old or older.

Wow. Amazing. I am underwhelmed.

[arjunadawn]

Good, Egypt is completely correct about this. The Muslim brotherhood are Islamic supremacists, out of which both Hamas and Al Qaeda were born. Qatar who bankroll Al Jazeera equally bankrolled Hamas to the tune of 1.6billion dollars, which was used to fun a network of tunnels under the Israeli and Egyptian borders used for arms smuggling and planned terrorist attacks.

Glad The Germans did the right thing, I somehow doubt they would have been arrested in the U.S at present.

"The Muslim brotherhood are Islamic supremacists"---

Are you talking about the first democratically & first civilian person elected in the history of Egypt --??

I mean you don't (& I certainly don't) have to agree with their policies ----but isn't all this what its supposed to be about ?

A completely democratic election (according to the UN observers) voted in a party that we don't agree with.

This what the other 3 Al Jazeera journalist (1 Australian-2 Egyptians) were also jailed for pointing out last year.

So basically Dan--the Democracy thing.....if we don't agree with the outcome is just BS.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Brotherhood_in_post-Mubarak_electoral_politics_of_Egypt

The post-Mubarak ruling establishment, attempting to thwart the Brotherhood's claim to governing, went as far as nullifying the outcome of the national parliamentary election under a legal pretext. However, one of the Brotherhood's leaders, Mohamed Morsi, was recognized as the winner of the presidential election that followed and assumed office on June 30, 2012. Morsi became the first democratically elected and first civilian President of Egypt

Perhaps, and when the citizens realized they were betrayed, the constitution shat upon, sharia being implemented, judges dismissed, military men dismissed, they again came out in the streets in numbers much more shocking then the first time. Morsi was deposed because he was a rouse to finally install sharia, contrary to the wish of the populace. How this can be missing from the above post is curious. The Egyptians set themselves singularly apart from such sponsors of terrorism in the world such as the US, and others. There criminal investigations resulted in glaring manipulation of the US government in supporting the MB, payoffs, salaries, and even Obama's brother was indicted for being a bag man for the MB. The only reason Obama was not indicted is because he is the sitting president of the most powerful country in the world.

[Chicog]

Good, Egypt is completely correct about this. The Muslim brotherhood are Islamic supremacists, out of which both Hamas and Al Qaeda were born. Qatar who bankroll Al Jazeera equally bankrolled Hamas to the tune of 1.6billion dollars, which was used to fun a network of tunnels under the Israeli and Egyptian borders used for arms smuggling and planned terrorist attacks.

Glad The Germans did the right thing, I somehow doubt they would have been arrested in the U.S at present.

I hope you enjoy being wrong. The Muslim Brotherhood is less than eight years old. They funded NONE of the groups you listed, many of which are fifty years old or older.

Wow. Amazing. I am underwhelmed.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928.

[Chicog]

Ahmed Mansour, an Egyptian journalist with al-Jazeera, has been released without charge two days after he was detained in Berlin at Egypt’s request.

Eissa Taibi, al-Jazeera’s Berlin correspondent, said: “I do not have a lot of details about his release but the only thing I know is that he has been released and that his lawyer and al-Jazeera’s lawyer were with him a short while ago.”

German protests grow over detention of Egyptian journalist

Read more

Berlin prosecutors said they would not seek Mansour’s extradition and had ordered his release, citing both “legal aspects and possible political-diplomatic concerns”, without detailing them.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/22/egyptian-journalist-ahmed-mansour-released-germany-al-jazeera

[Chicog]

And I posted it eight hours earlier on the "Al-Jazeera journalist detained in Berlin" thread.

Does it *really* merit another thread in a discussion forum?

I could understand it if this was a Twitter feed.....

Edited June 23, 2015 by Chicog