German authorities have released an Egyptian journalist, who is vocal in his opposition of Egyptian coup leader turned President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, after he was briefly detained as a result of an Interpol arrest warrant issued by authorities in Cairo.
Abdulrahman Ezz was released yesterday by authorities at Berlin’s Schoenefeld Airport after he was held and questioned for more than five hours.
According to Ezz’s lawyer, Ali Al-Awadi, the journalist was detained in Berlin over an Interpol arrest warrant which Cairo had issued alleging he had criminal convictions.
However Ezz was soon released by German authorities after the Egyptian ambassador in Berlin failed to provide evidence for the allegations in order to extradite the journalist.
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Ezz posted updates on Facebook whilst he was detained which were shared by others who called on human rights organisations to intervene in preventing his extradition.
A court in Egypt had sentenced the journalist in absentia to 20 years in prison for allegedly inciting violence, attacking a police station and imprisoning and torturing detainees during protests against the 2013 military coup that overthrew Egypt’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi.
In June this year, Egyptian authorities renewed their extradition requests to Interpol for Ezz and 400 alleged “terrorists”.
Hundreds of journalists have been imprisoned in Egypt following Al-Sisi’s crackdown on dissent which has also seen media organisations targeted, their directors arrested and funds frozen.