Doha (AFP)

Employees of the Qatari Al-Jazeera channel once again demanded the release of their producer Mahmoud Hussein on the thousandth day of his detention in Egypt, where he is accused of instigating sedition against the state and spreading false news.

Mahmoud Hussein, an Egyptian working at the Al Jazeera headquarters in Doha, was arrested in late December 2016, three days after arriving in Egypt where he went with his family for a holiday.

The Qatari public media is caught up in the political clash between Qatar and Egypt, which accuses Doha of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the bane of the regime of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Channel staff wore badges and t-shirts calling for Mr. Hussein's release and gathered in the newsroom during a live broadcast.

"His family needs to know that we support him, that we are with him and that we will not forget him.We will continue fighting until he is released," Mostefa Souag told AFP. , Acting General Manager of the Al-Jazeera Media Network Group.

A court ordered his release in May, but a week later he was hit with another set of charges and detained.

Al-Jazeera is considered by Cairo as a media relay of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose exiled members, especially in Turkey, continue to criticize the authoritarian power of President Sissi.

The chain has been in Cairo's sights since the army overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Shortly after, the authorities arrested three other journalists from Al-Jazeera, including a Canadian of Egyptian descent. an Australian, causing criticism internationally.

The three journalists, who were facing charges similar to those against Mr. Hussein, were released in 2015.

In June 2017, Egypt - along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain - broke its economic and diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting "terrorist" groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood. what Doha categorically denies.

The UN and human rights organizations regularly denounce the repression of dissenting voices in Egypt.

The charges against Mr. Hussein are regularly used against opponents, journalists or human rights defenders.

The Egyptian authorities deny these criticisms and say they want to preserve the "stability" of the country.

© 2019 AFP