OSCE media freedom representative calls for immediate release of Al Jazeera journalist arrested in Germany

VIENNA, 22 June 2015 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today criticized the detention of an Al Jazeera reporter by the German authorities on the basis of an Egyptian arrest warrant, calling for his immediate release.

According to media reports, on 20 June Al-Jazeera reporter Ahmad Mansour was detained at Berlin’s Tegel Airport while boarding a flight bound for Qatar. Mansour, who has Egyptian and British citizenship, was convicted by a Cairo court in absentia in 2014 on charges of alleged involvement in the torture of a lawyer in the city’s Tahrir Square in 2011.

Mansour and Al Jazeera reject the allegations as politically motivated and deny that there is an Interpol warrant against him.

“With the full respect of the German authorities’ legal obligations, I warn that the detention of journalists is a powerful tool to silence media critical of any government,” Mijatović said. “With this in mind, I call on the German authorities to immediately release Mansour.”

If extradited to Egypt, the reporter faces 15 years in prison. Mijatović also noted statements by leading press freedom NGOs calling for Mansour’s release

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.