CAIRO: Police stormed the new headquarters of Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr, the Qatari channel’s live transmission from Egypt, for the second time in one month, the channel’s Managing Editor Abdel Moneim Mahmoud told Daily News Egypt Thursday.
"We presented an application to the Foreign Press Center to issue a license allowing us to broadcast independently not via a service provider," Abdel Moneim said.
"In the new documents we stated the address of our new headquarters in Agouza, and that the space is still being prepared," he added.
Abdel Moneim said that 25 police officers in civilian clothes broke into the apartment, attacked some staff members, assaulted one female producer and arrested reporter Mohammed Solaiman who is now being held in Agouza police station.
"The behavior of police officers was completely disrespectful and humiliating," he said.
Officials from the Ministry of Interior were not available for comment.
On Sept. 11, the satellite channel said that authorities had prevented it from broadcasting, after entering its offices and confiscating transmission equipment.
Ahmed Zain, the channel’s chief in Cairo, told AFP that police officers from the culture ministry and representatives of Egypt’s public broadcaster had also seized materials and that one technician was arrested.
He said they cited the lack of an official license to broadcast and a complaint from the neighborhood. He said a lawyer also presented a complaint accusing the channel of "sowing dissent" and "calling for demonstrations."
Several days later, the government ordered a freeze on new satellite television permits after a meeting with top generals to address "media unruliness," MENA reported.
"It was decided in the meeting to stop issuing licenses for satellite channels temporarily," it quoted Information Minister Osama Heikal as saying.
