2 Al Jazeera journalists held in Egypt

Published March 8, 2002

PARIS, March 7: Paris-based international journalists’ rights association Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF - Reporters Without Borders) has revealed the arrest by Egyptian authorities of two journalists working for Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based Arab-language satellite news service.

According to RSF spokesman Virginie Locussol, the two men — cameraman Mohamed Izz-Eddin En-Najjar and sound engineer Mohamed Eid Jalal — were “arbitrarily arrested” in Alexandria on March 5 after they had filmed a student demonstration at the University of Alexandria in support of the Palestinian people.

According to RSF, the two experienced journalists were arrested as they were putting their equipment back in their vehicle.