Al-Jazeera says Germany releases journalist
Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
Publication Date | 22 June 2015 |
Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Al-Jazeera says Germany releases journalist, 22 June 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/55b5f40813.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
June 22, 2015
Egyptian journalist Ahmed Mansour
Germany has released Al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour.
A spokesman for the Berlin prosecutors' office made the announcement on June 22, two days after Mansour was detained in Berlin on an Egyptian arrest warrant.
Mansour's attorney said it was his understanding that there were no further legal matters pending against his client in Germany.
The Doha-based pan-Arab television network had called on German authorities to immediate release the journalist, saying "countries must not allow themselves to be tools of [Egypt's] media oppression."
The German Foreign Ministry said no one would be extradited from Germany if they faced the death penalty.
A Cairo court has sentenced Mansour in absentia to 15 years in prison over allegedly torturing an unnamed lawyer in 2011, a charge that both he and Al-Jazeera have rejected.
Egyptian authorities have accused Al-Jazeera of being a mouthpiece for the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP
Link to original story on RFE/RL website