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Al-Jazeera journalist detained in Egypt
A producer for Qatar's Al-Jazeera Documentary channel was charged on Saturday with "harming Egypt's national interest".
A producer for Qatar's Al-Jazeera Documentary channel was charged on Saturday with "harming Egypt's national interest" after working on a film highlighting police torture in Egypt, judicial sources said.
"Howayda Taha has been charged with harming Egypt's national interest, (planning to air) fabricated images and damaging the country's reputation," the source said.
Earlier on Saturday, Taha was summoned before the Egyptian Supreme State Security court where the prosecution viewed tapes for her upcoming documentary showing dramatised scenes of torture in Egyptian police stations.
Taha, an Egyptian producer for the Doha-based network, was planning to leave the country on January 8 after completing her reporting but was stopped at Cairo International Airport and told she was not allowed to travel.
Airport authorities confiscated 50 tapes and her personal computer and said they would return the items 48 hours later.
"She will be detained overnight and questioning will resume (on Sunday)," the source said.
Al-Jazeera shot to world fame through its exclusive coverage of the Afghanistan war in late 2001 and its broadcasting of videotapes of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
