Al Jazeera urges freedom to report

Al Jazeera call on Egyptian authorities to allow them to freely cover the events unfolding in the country.

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The Al Jazeera Network has called for the Egyptian authorities to allow them to freely cover the events currently unfolding in the country.

The global satellite network has reported that their live channel Al Jazeera Mubasher was this morning (Friday) removed from the Nilesat platform from which the public receive television channels. This was after the channel was originally moved to different frequencies, the Network said in a press release issued on Friday.

In addition, the Network’s bureau in Cairo had its telephone landlines cut, and its main Arabic news channel has also faced signal interference.

Commenting, Ayman Jaballah, the managing director of Al Jazeera Mubasher, said: “We call upon the Egyptian authorities to uphold the right of the media to report news freely. There should be no impediments or restrictions in front of a free press.”

Al Jazeera’s coverage of anti-government demonstrations has previously faced censure from regimes, most notably recently in Tunisia where the channel was banned by the former president. Despite this, Al Jazeera continued to report on the uprisings, to widespread acclaim.

Notes

Viewers facing difficulties can watch Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera Mubasher using these details: 10949 V 27500 3/4

About Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera started out more than fourteen years ago as the first independent Arabic news channel in the world dedicated to providing comprehensive television news and live debate for the Arab world. Al Jazeera was formally named the Al Jazeera Network in March 2006, transforming its operation into an international media corporation. 

The Al Jazeera Network now consists of the flagship Al Jazeera Satellite (Arabic) channel, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Documentary, Al Jazeera Sport, Al Jazeera.net (the English and Arabic web sites), the Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Center, the Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Al Jazeera Mubasher (Live), and Al Jazeera Mobile.

For further information please contact:
Christina Aivaliotis
Press.int@aljazeera.net
Tel: +974 4489 2555