Al Jazeera denies Cairo office raid

Media network says reports published in Egyptian media regarding raid and arrests are entirely false.

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The Al Jazeera media network has denied reports that Egyptian security forces had raided one of its offices in the capital Cairo.

“No Al Jazeera office in Egypt was raided last night, and none of our staff were arrested.  We have no office in the Dokki area of Cairo.  The report in Al-Ahram is entirely inaccurate and fictitious,” said Osama Saeed, a spokesperson for Al Jazeera, on Thursday.

The Egyptian Al-Ahram newspaper published a report on its website, saying that one of Al Jazeera’s offices in Cairo had been raided by security forces on Wednesday, with 11 Qatari citizens “arrested”.

The report said that four of the people arrested had been “police officers”.

Al Jazeera’s offices in Cairo have been closed since July 3, when they were raided by security forces hours after the army toppled elected president Mohamed Morsi.

The satellite channel, broadcast from Qatar, can still be seen in Egypt.

Al-Ahram quoted security officials as saying they had searched the office after receiving reports that firearms were inside, but that none were found. Cameras, audio equipment and unlicensed transmitters were seized in the raid, it reported.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies