Egypt’s military-backed government says the Al Jazeera reporters, well-known members of the foreign press corps, were “conspiring with ‘terrorists’ to fabricate news about Egypt” and running a terrorist cell out of the upscale Marriott Hotel in Cairo.
Attacks on the press began with the targeting of Al Jazeera. Gas-rich Qatar, which owns Al Jazeera, backed the recently ousted Muslim Brotherhood movement and is heavily at odds with the new government.
But journalists now say it has spiraled into a wider crackdown on the press. Dutch correspondent Rena Netjes fled Egypt Tuesday after her embassy discovered that she had been listed among the 20 journalists wanted by police.
“This attempt to criminalize legitimate journalistic work is what distorts Egypt’s image abroad. The government’s lack of tolerance shows that it is unable to handle criticism,” the Committee for the Protection of Journalists said in a statement.
Over the weekend the Tahrir News Network aired footage from Egypt’s Ministry of the Interior showing the arrest and interrogation of the Al-Jazeera television crew in the Marriott Hotel.