Africa

Home page

Africa

Five Polish reporters detained in Cairo

03 February 2011 21:08 (UTC +04:00)

Two of the journalists, Krzysztof Kolosionek and Piotr Bugalski, were subsequently released but cameraman Michal Jankowski and journalists Piotr Gorecki and Pawel Rolak are still in custody.

The team was stopped by police on their way to an interview with the Polish ambassador in the Egyptian capital although their local "fixer" was let go.

Two TVP journalists were briefly detained last Friday by police near Hurghada on the Red Sea coast.

Six Al Jazeera journalists were held for several hours earlier this week and had their equipment seized.

A RIA Novosti cameraman said earlier on Thursday police and self-professed supporters of embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had started targeting photo and television reporters in Cairo and that it was an "open season" on any person with a camera.

There are suggestions that the authorities have informally instructed their supporters to prevent any photo and video coverage of the ongoing events so the moment a person with a camera appears in the street, he is attacked. In the best-case scenario his camera is taken away but physical violence has become common.

Thousands of Mubarak supporters arrived at Tahrir Square on horses and camels on Wednesday and clashed with opposition protesters. Protesters were also fired on by pro-government supporters during morning prayers on Thursday.

Media reports say between five and 15 people have been killed and up to 1,500 injured in fighting in the square.

Anti-government protests broke out in Egypt on January 25. The unrest has already claimed the lives of at least 300 people and injured several thousand across the North African state.