IRISH TV NEWS producer Russ Finn has been freed by Egyptian authorities after being held in detention for five days.
Finn – who was freelancing for Al Jazeera’s English language channel – was detained along with three colleagues as they covered events in Cairo last Tuesday.
The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed to TheJournal.ie last Friday evening that they were aware of his detention, and that officials were attempting to provide assistance.
State news agency MENA reported yesterday that Egypt had expelled Finn and the two other foreign journalists detained last week – a South African cameraman and a reporter from New Zealand. The agency quoted airport security officials as saying they had departed on a plane to London.
Police said the three did not have press accreditation.
The news channel has accused Egyptian authorities of carrying out a campaign against it in recent weeks; Al Jazeera offices in Egypt have been raided by security forces, and three other staff members are still in custody.
Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities have accused Al-Jazeera of biased reporting on the popularly backed coup that toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on July 3 and on its bloody aftermath.
Additional reporting, AFP.
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