Egypt charges 20 journalists, including two British nationals, with conspiracy

Egyptian prosecutors are to charge 20 Al Jazeera journalists with conspiring with a terrorist group and broadcasting fake images of civil war.

12:15 30 January 2014

Egyptian prosecutors have confirmed that they have charged 20 journalists who are working for the Al Jazeera network with conspiring with terrorist groups and for broadcasting fake images of “a civil war that raises alarms about the state’s collapse.” 

 

Al Jazeera, is the only major Arabic-language news outlet in Egypt. Owned by Qatar, it is one of the few news outlets that are sympathetic to the ex-president Mursi’s Brotherhood and critical of the new government. 

 

The prosecutors said in a statement that the journalists are manipulating video footage “to produce unreal scenes to suggest abroad that what is happening in the country is a civil war that raises alarms about the state’s collapse” and “to the assist the terrorist group” — the Brotherhood — “in achieving its purpose of influencing international public opinion.”

 

Sixteen of the 20 journalists are Egyptians while two are British nationals, one Australian, and one Dutch. They were charged with “joining a terrorist group” with the purpose to damage national security and social peace. 

 

If convicted, the journalists may spend several years in prison. The prosecutors added that eight of the defendants were in custody while the rest are considered fugitives.