Al Jazeera staff show solidarity with colleague detained for 1,000 days in Egypt

Staff at Al Jazeera showed their support for fellow journalist Mahmoud Hussein to mark 1,000 days of his detention in Egyptian prisons, the New Khaleej news site reported.

According to Al Jazeera, the Egyptian prosecution has repeatedly renewed Hussein’s detention without trial, in violation of international laws and his right to a fair trial.

More than 20 organisations have highlighted their concerns regarding Hussein’s continued incarceration, the news site said, adding that the UN Human Rights Council is among them.

Hussein is one of nearly 90 journalists who are being held in Egyptian prisons, according to human rights organisations.

The Arab Media Freedom Monitor said in a statement yesterday that the authorities abused the journalist because of his affiliation to Al Jazeera, adding that Hussein’s nine children have been deprived of time with their father for the past 1,000 days.

The watchdog added that Hussein has exceeded the legal period of pretrial detention as stipulated in Egyptian law, and has not been referred to court so far. A judicial order was issued in May calling for his release, but the Interior Ministry did not implement it and returned him to pretrial detention.

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