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Germany arrests Al Jazeera journalist in Berlin at request of Egypt

Xinhua, June 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

The German police arrested on Saturday Egyptian well-known Al Jazeera journalist at Berlin airport at the request of the Egyptian authorities, the journalist said in a phone call to the pan-Arab TV network.

Ahmed Mansour was on his way from Germany to Qatar after days of visit where he recorded a TV report on Germany's policy towards the Middle East and the recent visit of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to the Western country.

"I showed a senior policeman clearance from the Interpol that I am not wanted for any lawsuits but he said it seemed there was a new lawsuit that got me a sentence in absentia and that I was wanted again by the Interpol, and so I was detained," Mansour said in his phone call to Al Jazeera from Berlin airport.

Mansour is known for his loyalty to the currently-blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood group of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted by the military in July 2013 after mass protests against his one-year rule.

"I am still detained in Berlin airport by the federal police and I am waiting to be presented to the judge in three hours to decide my situation," Mansour continued.

He expressed hope that he will be released "if the judge is convinced that the all the charges are fabricated," noting the charges included rape, kidnapping and rubbery.

Earlier this year, Egyptian authorities deported Al Jazeera Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy after he gave up his Egyptian citizenship.

Fahmy and his two colleagues, Australian Peter Greste and Egyptian Baher Mohamed, were sentenced to 10 years in prison in June 2014 over charges of spying for Qatar's Al Jazeera TV network, which has been supporting the Brotherhood group since Morsi's ouster.

Fahmy and Greste are now back in Canada and Australia while Mohamed was released pending a retrial.

Egyptian courts are currently holding mass trials for thousands of Morsi supporters.

Morsi himself, along with more than 100 others, has recently been handed an appealable death sentence over plotting a mass jailbreak during the 2011 uprising that toppled ex-leader Hosni Mubarak. Endit