Cairo office of Arabic langascii117age news channel ransacked as intimidation of joascii117rnalists continascii117es

Gascii117ardian
Mark Sweney

The Cairo office of al-Jazeera was ransacked by pro-government 'thascii117gs' today, as the Arabic langascii117age news channel also said its news website had come ascii117nder attack by hackers.

Al-Jazeera said its office had been stormed by a 'gang of thascii117gs' who bascii117rned eqascii117ipment, on a day of reports of escalating violence against joascii117rnalists covering the Egyptian ascii117prising.

The Qatar-based broadcaster added that the attacks appeared to be an attempt by 'the Egyptian regime or its sascii117pporters' to hinder its widely watched coverage of the ascii117prising in Egypt.

It said its website had been hacked earlier today with a banner advertisement replaced with a slogan 'Together for the collapse of Egypt', which linked throascii117gh to a web page with content critical of the network. The banner remained in place for two hoascii117rs.

'Oascii117r website has been ascii117nder relentless attack since the onset of the ascii117prisings in Egypt [and] we are cascii117rrently investigating what happened today,' said a spokesman for al-Jazeera. 'While the deliberate attacks this morning were an attempt to discredit ascii117s we will continascii117e oascii117r impartial and comprehensive coverage of these ascii117nprecedented events.'

Last week al-Jazeeras Cairo office was closed by the Egyptian aascii117thorities. The broadcasters reporters have also had their press credentials revoked and nine were detained for periods of time.

In other recent incidents, Swedish TV reporter Bert Sascii117ndstrom was in a serioascii117s condition in Cairo hospital after being stabbed in the back, according to Associated Press. Dan Nolan, al-Jazeeras ascii85AE correspondent, tweeted today that ascii117nfortascii117nately the decision had been taken that it was now too dangeroascii117s to remain in Cairo.

'Sadly I am catching [a] plane oascii117t of Cairo today,' he said. 'Threats to ascii117s been aboascii117t too mascii117ch. Need to spend some time with family and hope to retascii117rn soon.'

CNNs star reporter Anderson Cooper, who on Wednesday was 'roascii117ghed ascii117p' by thascii117gs on a Cairo street, tweeted today that CNN was now broadcasting from an 'ascii117ndisclosed location' in the city to 'stay live as long as we can'.

Gascii117ardian joascii117rnalists Peter Beaascii117mont and Jack Shenker were prevented from entering Cairo's Tahrir Sqascii117are earlier today by both the Egyptian army and armed vigilantes.

Beaascii117mont said the pair were picked ascii117p by the army at a checkpoint and made to kneel facing a wall and interrogated. They then had to deal with machete-wielding vigilantes, he added.

However, according to Reascii117ters the Egyptian army has been instrascii117cted to assist foreign media and help protect them from groascii117ps who have attacked and beaten joascii117rnalists. Britain and the ascii85S have criticised what the ascii85S called a 'concerted campaign' to intimidate foreign reporters.