A solidarity pause in Al Jazeera on the anniversary of the arrest of Mahmoud Hussein

Al-Jazeera Media Network in its headquarters in Doha organized a stand in solidarity with the news producer in the channel colleague Mahmoud Hussein, who was arbitrarily detained by the Egyptian authorities a thousand days ago.

Participants called for the release of colleague Mahmoud, condemned what the Egyptian authorities are doing to him and his fellow journalists, and stressed that the press is not a crime.

In a speech on the occasion, the Acting Director General of Al-Jazeera network Dr. Mustafa Sawak said that it is another sad day to remember our colleague, journalist Mahmoud Hussein, who is imprisoned in Egypt not for the guilt he committed, but for being a professional journalist working on Al-Jazeera.

He described what Mahmoud was subjected to as an arbitrary detention that was an unfair follow-up. ".

"This is further evidence of abuse of power against journalists. The aim of this abuse is to intimidate journalists into silence."

He stressed that on Al Jazeera, all media organizations and all free professional journalists around the world, we must cooperate in confronting these arbitrary forms of dealing with the media.

"Mahmoud Hussein is still with us in our hearts and consciousness because he is part of this institution, and we will continue to work until he comes out of his ordeal," he said.

Since the arrest of colleague Mahmoud Hussein on December 20, 2016 during a visit to his family in Egypt, campaigns of solidarity with his case and calls for his release have continued.

The Egyptian authorities have renewed his detention more than twenty times, exceeding the maximum period prescribed by Egyptian law for pre-trial detention, in a behavior that many human rights organizations described as malicious and retaliatory.

During this long period, Hussein Rahin remained in custody, subjected to serious violations and solitary confinement for several months, denied visits and medical follow-up.

Mahmoud Hussein was subjected to a flagrant violation of his rights when he was filmed in clips broadcast on pro-government satellite channels described as a terrorist, before being presented to the prosecution.