The US State Department expresses its concern about the continued detention of colleague Mahmoud Hussein in Egypt

The United States is very concerned about the continued detention of Al-Jazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein in Egypt as the Coruna virus continues to spread, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagos said in an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera to be broadcast later.

Ortagos added that freedom of the press is something that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called for in Egypt and elsewhere around the world, noting that they will always demand the protection and respect of journalists, whether in Egypt or anywhere else.

On March 18, Al Jazeera Media Network expressed grave concern for the safety of colleague Mahmoud Hussein and other journalists held in Egyptian prisons, which are crowded with large numbers of detainees, in light of the epidemic spread of the new Corona virus, holding the Egyptian authorities responsible for their safety, and calling for their release.

A new case, and an Egyptian court decided on May 23 to release Hussein, but the authorities included him in a new case, and decided to detain him pending. In January, the Egyptian authorities renewed the imprisonment of journalist colleague Mahmoud Hussein for 45 days, after more than three years of pretrial detention.

The Egyptian authorities continue to arrest Hussein three years ago without submitting him to any trial, despite the fact that he has exceeded the 24-month period specified by Egyptian law as a maximum for pretrial detention.

Mahmoud Hussein was arrested on a regular visit to his family in Egypt, and was not then assigned to a job or press coverage, on December 20, 2016, and since his arrest the prosecution has renewed his detention more than 20 times without trial.

For nearly three years, colleague Mahmoud was subjected to grave violations, and he remained in his solitary confinement for several months, deprived of visits and medical follow-up.