Egypt Detains AP Cameraman After Possibly Mistaking Him for Al Jazeera Employee

The arrests of journalists in Egypt continues even as the country votes on a constitutional referendum, as the Associated Press reported Wednesday that a freelance cameraman covering the vote for AP was detained by Egyptian officials.

According to AP, Hassan Abdullah Hassan and his driver were detained outside of a Cairo polling station. Hassan said authorities arrested him after they saw his footage on an Al Jazeera affiliate and mistakingly concluded that he was working for the outlawed agency.

Egyptian officials have been cracking down on Al Jazeera since the deposition of former President Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate, last summer. The interim military government recently declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization and has begun arresting Al Jazeera journalists whom it said is colluding with the party.

Since being barred from reporting in Egypt, the Qatar-based news service has been relying in part of freelance reporting from within the country.

[h/t AP]

[Image via AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED MAHJOUB]

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