Tensions between Egypt and Turkey have escalated with dueling statements coming from both sides after Egyptian security officials arrested four employees of Turkey’s official news agency earlier this month in Cairo.
Egyptian security forces stormed the office of the Turkish Anadolu Agency Jan. 14 and arrested four employees, including a Turkish national, then referred them to state security prosecution on the grounds of terrorism accusations.
According to a statement issued Jan. 16 by the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, a rights organization operating in Egypt since 2014, security forces detained journalists and employees at the agency for more than seven hours. Security forces then referred them to the state security prosecution for investigation, which accused four staff members at the agency, including a Turkish citizen, of aiding a terrorist group to achieve its goals, spreading false news and funding terrorism.
While the journalists have now been released, the Egyptian government has apparently not dropped charges and seems intent to see the case through.
Fatima Sarraj, a defense attorney for the Anadolu Agency staff, said the state security prosecution issued a decision to release the journalists after long hours of questioning them, with bail set at 10,000 Egyptian pounds (about $633) pending further proceedings.
Read more: al-monitor
