The crew members from the Al-Jazeera's English channel who were arrested on Sunday as the Egyptian government intensifies crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood were interrogated Monday by state officials, according to the Associated Press.
Al-Jazeera network said in a statement four of its journalist were detained in Cairo late Sunday on "arbitrary" means and called for their immediate release, the AP reported. The four people consisted of Australian award-winning correspondent Peter Greste; Al-Jazeera English Bureau Chief Mohammed Fahmy, a producer and a cameraman.
In the statement, the network said that they were not officially banned in Egypt and that they "condemn the arbitrary arrest of Al Jazeera English journalists working in Cairo and demand their immediate and unconditional release," the AP reported.
An Egyptian official who spoke to the AP on conditions of anonymity said the four AL-Jazeera journalists were being questioned on claims they were broadcasting without permission from the Cairo Marriott.
Al-Jazeera is seen in the eye of the current military backed government as being bias to the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted President Mohammed Morsi, the AP reported. Until now the government has mostly cracked down on the Arabic Al-Jazeera service and a local Egypt branch covering the protests.
The Interior Ministry said the four journalists were arrested on claims the crew was illegally using a hotel room as a media center, adding that they were broadcasting "rumors and false news" and allegedly holding meetings for Brotherhood members, the AP reported.
As the government continues to crack down on any Morsi or Brotherhood supporters, 138 protesters have been arrested and sentenced to two years in prison with labor on rioting and vandalism charges, the AP reported.
Marie Harf, deputy spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, expressed concern about the recent labeling of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group as well as other arrests of other peaceful activist and political protesters, according to the AP.
"We remain deeply concerned about all of the politically motivated arrests, detentions and charges in Egypt," Harf said on Monday, the AP reported. "These actions raise questions about the rule of law being applied impartially and equitably and do not move Egypt's transition forward."
The Al-Jazeera has faced opposition from the Egyptian government for some time, but pressures on the network have intensified since the summer coup which led to huge pro-Morsi protests, the AP reported.
Since September, a local Al-Jazeera affiliate Mubasher Egypt was barred from broadcasting in Egypt because the government claimed it was "endangering national security," but they continued broadcasting from Doha, Qatar, according to the AP.
During a state crackdown during the summer following the ousting of former President Morsi, the Al-Jazeera's team who had been running out of the hotel room for months was raided and much of their equipment was confiscated, according to the AP.
