Cairo: Egypt`s military arrested a BBC
journalist when troops cleared out a central Cairo protest
that left several protesters injured and dozens detained, the
British broadcaster said on Tuesday.
Shaimaa Khalil was detained yesterday after the
military, backed by riot police, cleared the three-week sit-in
in Tahrir Square, it said in a statement.
"We are very concerned at the detention of Shaimaa
Khalil in Cairo. She is a fine journalist, simply doing her
job. We are doing all we can to secure her release," the BBC`s
press office said.
Khalil, who accessed her Twitter account today, said
she was being taken to a military prosecutor along with others
arrested.
"I`m and (people) with me ok, on way to seen28 mil
prosecutor," she wrote, referring to a military prosecution
and court complex in Cairo.
The prosecutor can either order the detainees to be
released, remand them in custody or refer them to a civilian
prosecutor.
The military, in power since February when a popular
revolt ousted president Hosni Mubarak, has been criticised for
summoning journalists over their reporting but had not
detained accredited foreign correspondents.
The BBC World News`s foreign editor Jon Williams
posted an appeal for her release on his Twitter account.
"Help us free (Shaimaa Khalil). BBC`s Shaimaa Khalil
detained in Tahrir Sq. Arresting journalists for doing job not
great advert for new Egypt," he wrote.
PTI
