Berlin: Al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour was being held in Berlin police custody today awaiting a judge's decision on his further detention on an international arrest warrant issued by his native Egypt, authorities said.
In a case that has raised issues about press freedom and German relations with Egypt under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Mansour was arrested on Saturday at a Berlin airport having been accused by Cairo of committing "several crimes".
"He is in police custody," a spokesman for the Berlin public prosecutor's office, Martin Steltner, told AFP today.
"The Berlin prosecutor's office is examining the legal assistance request" from Egypt, he added.
Mansour, who also has British citizenship, is to appear before a judge, who is to decide as early as today whether to hold him in detention and launch extradition procedures or release him, Berlin authorities said.
Al-Jazeera said on its website that an Egyptian court had sentenced Mansour in absentia in 2014 to 15 years in prison, for "torturing a lawyer in 2011 on Tahrir Square" in Cairo, epicentre of an anti-regime uprising that brought down former president Hosni Mubarak.
"Mansour has rejected these absurd accusations," the network said.
Mansour tweeted angrily in detention on Saturday: "The question now is how have the German government and Interpol become tools in the hands of a bloodthirsty regime in Egypt that came to power through a coup, and is led by the terrorist (President) Abdel Fattah al-Sisi."
The 52-year-old journalist also told Al-Jazeera he was facing rape and robbery charges.
Mansour, who hosts a popular news programme, recently interviewed Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, the chief of Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate, Al-Nusra Front.
While in Berlin, he interviewed an expert on Islamist militants from a prominent German think-tank.
Egypt's Sisi visited Germany on June 3, as prominent rights groups urged Chancellor Angela Merkel to press him to end "the gravest human rights crisis in Egypt in decades."
Merkel in a joint press conference with Sisi voiced criticism of Egypt's use of the death penalty and record on religious freedom, but pledged closer economic ties with its partner in the fight against Islamic extremism.
In a case that has raised issues about press freedom and German relations with Egypt under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Mansour was arrested on Saturday at a Berlin airport having been accused by Cairo of committing "several crimes".
"He is in police custody," a spokesman for the Berlin public prosecutor's office, Martin Steltner, told AFP today.
Mansour, who also has British citizenship, is to appear before a judge, who is to decide as early as today whether to hold him in detention and launch extradition procedures or release him, Berlin authorities said.
Advertisement
"Mansour has rejected these absurd accusations," the network said.
Advertisement
The 52-year-old journalist also told Al-Jazeera he was facing rape and robbery charges.
Advertisement
While in Berlin, he interviewed an expert on Islamist militants from a prominent German think-tank.
Advertisement
Merkel in a joint press conference with Sisi voiced criticism of Egypt's use of the death penalty and record on religious freedom, but pledged closer economic ties with its partner in the fight against Islamic extremism.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sisi To Be Sworn In For 3rd Term Today Child Among 8 Killed In Clashes Between Army, Rebels In Syria: Report Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sisi Wins Third Term As President With 89.6% Votes Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged With Matthew Perry's Death How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan India Sends 1,400 kg Anti-Cancer Drugs To Syria In Humanitarian Assistance Police Arrest Suspect In Bihar Dalit Girl Kidnapping, Murder Case 80 Killed In Paramilitary Attack In Sudan Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.