AFP-
Scores of supporters of Al-Jazeera journalists jailed in Egypt demonstrated on Tuesday in Kenya, the base of one of the detained reporters.
“Being a journalist is not a crime,” the crowd of around a 100 shouted outside the Egyptian embassy in Nairobi, in a peaceful protest watched over by armed police.
The detained journalists, who have been locked up for more than a month, include Peter Greste, an award-winning Australian reporter who previously worked for the BBC and who lives in the Kenyan capital.
“It’s been 37 days now… you are still in there, languishing in a prison for doing your job, for trying to get both sides of the story,” said Robyn Kriel, a reporter for South Africa’s eNCA television, and head of East Africa’s foreign journalists association.
“Journalism does not equal terrorism, you have committed no crime,” she added, in a letter read to Egyptian diplomats, as books were handed over for those in prison to read.
Rights group and the United Nations have expressed concern over a crackdown on the media by Egypt’s military-backed rulers, with 20 journalists working for Qatar-based international station Al-Jazeera television facing trial.
Photos by AFP