Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Egypt: Government releases Al Jazeera producer

Howayda Taha, a documentary producer for Al Jazeera, has been released after being held for 15 hours by Egyptian police.Taha was arrested on Monday for allegedly filming without a proper licence, her lawyer and police said.

She is already appealing an earlier jail sentence after reporting on alleged torture in police stations.

Taha was working on a film about farm labourers in a low-income neighbourhood in Cairo when police detained her early on Monday and questioned her late into the evening.

Ahmed Helmi, her lawyer, said on Tuesday she had all the necessary papers issued to her from the Egyptian press centre.

Police confiscated her tapes and sent them to be inspected by the department of artistic inspection, Helmi said. It was not clear if any charges would be raised."She is under a constant police watch, they want to ban her from working in Egypt," he said.

Police said four other people were arrested with her, including three crew members and an Egyptian human-rights activist.

Taha was sentenced in absentia in May to six months in jail and fined $5,600 for working on a documentary highlighting torture in police stations.

She has appealed against the sentence. The appeals court is due to deliver its ruling on February 11.

- Al Jazeera News Service

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