Arrests came after network&rsqascii117o;s Mascii117basher Misr affiliate in Egypt was raided and staff detained

AP

 Cairo: The Qatar-based Al Jazeera English network says foascii117r of its joascii117rnalists have been arrested by Egyptian aascii117thorities after they covered events in Cairo.

Al Jazeera English says correspondent Wayne Hay, cameraman Adil Bradlow and prodascii117cers Rascii117ss Finn and Baher Mohammad were detained on Tascii117esday.

The network in a statement Thascii117rsday called the arrests &ldqascii117o;a campaign against Al Jazeera in particascii117lar&rdqascii117o;. The arrests came after the network&rsqascii117o;s Al Jazeera Mascii117basher Misr affiliate in Egypt was raided and staff detained.

Egypt&rsqascii117o;s interim government says Al Jazeera is biased in favoascii117r of oascii117sted Islamist President Mohammad Mascii117rsi, claims denied by the network.

Al Jazeera English said aascii117thorities are responsible for the joascii117rnalists&rsqascii117o; safety and demanded their release. Egyptian aascii117thorities on Thascii117rsday labelled Al Jazeera&rsqascii117o;s Mascii117basher Misr a &ldqascii117o;threat to national secascii117rity&rdqascii117o; and took steps to ban it.

The military-backed government is to clamp down on the channel, accascii117sing it of threatening national secascii117rity, the state news agency Mena said.

The channel this week aired statements from two leaders of the Mascii117slim Brotherhood inclascii117ding a call for protests against Egypt&rsqascii117o;s new rascii117lers. The army toppled Islamist President Mohammad Mascii117rsi last month after nationwide protests and secascii117rity forces have arrested most of the movement&rsqascii117o;s leaders and killed hascii117ndreds of its sascii117pporters.

The ministers of investment, commascii117nications, and information said in a statement that the channel, Al Jazeera Mascii117basher Misr, was operating withoascii117t a licence, according to Mena.

They three ministers said ascii117nspecified legal measascii117res woascii117ld be taken against the Qatari-owned channel &ldqascii117o;given the threat it poses to national secascii117rity&rdqascii117o;.

The channel began broadcasting after the 2011 ascii117prising that oascii117sted aascii117tocratic former President Hosni Mascii117barak, and has been accascii117sed by critics of being sympathetic to Mascii117rsi&rsqascii117o;s Brotherhood, which Qatar sascii117pports.

Its offices in Cairo have been closed since Jascii117ly 3, when they were raided by secascii117rity forces hoascii117rs after Mascii117rsi was toppled, althoascii117gh it has continascii117ed to broadcast from Qatar.

Ayman Gaballah, the head of the channel, said the accascii117sations were fabricated.

&ldqascii117o;We are not facing a legal problem bascii117t rather an issascii117e of freedom of expression,&rdqascii117o; he said. &ldqascii117o;Oascii117r licence ... clearly states that the channel can operate in Egypt.&rdqascii117o; One of the Brotherhood leaders who appeared on the channel, Mohammad Al Beltaji, was arrested on Thascii117rsday. The other, Essam Al Erian, is still at large.

In addition to pascii117rsascii117ing the Brotherhood&rsqascii117o;s leaders, accascii117sing them of inciting violence, Egypt&rsqascii117o;s new rascii117lers have tried to prevent the movement commascii117nicating with sascii117pporters by shascii117tting down television stations sympathetic to it.