CAIRO, May 13, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Egyptian security forces Friday, May 13, detained eight members of an Al-Jazeera crew, preventing their exclusive live coverage of a key judicial meeting to decide whether to monitor presidential elections or not.

According to Al-Jazeera Cairo bureau chief, Hussein Abdel-Ghani, the Doha-based all-news Arab channel was the only channel allowed to cover the session of the Council of judges, some of whom have threatened not to supervise the vote at all if they are not given full control over each step of the election process.

“The detentions reflect attempts to stifle the freedom of press in Egypt,” Abdel-Ghani told IslamOnline.net. He said the crew were prevented from getting into the Council’s headquarters by a mob, posing as followers of the ruling National Democratic Party.

The Egyptian Press Syndicate issued an immediate statement condemning the detentions. “They are a brazen infringement with grave repercussions for people working in journalism,” read the statement.

On the other hand, the Egyptian Ministry of Interior admitted a number of people working for Al-Jazeera were detained.

“They did not have a license to cover the judicial meeting,” a spokesman for the ministry told IOL over the phone.

The license, or rather lack thereof, issue is used occasionally by the Egyptian authorities to justify crackdown on the media or anti-regime rallies.

Observers say the detentions were meant to avoid screening opposition by judges to monitoring presidential elections in which the 77-year-old Mubarak is expected to take part and win in September.

The Friday meeting of the Council witnessed obvious divisions, with some judges demanding the approval of a law on the independence of judicial authorities.

After Friday prayers, almost the same time Al-Jazeera crew members were detained, a demonstration was staged by Kefaya (Enough) group which calls for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak after almost a rule of 24 years.

“We pin great hopes on Egyptian judges, and urge them to combine forces to stick to their demands for full control over the coming election process,” George Ishak, the co-coordinator of Kefaya, told IOL.

A file photo of Samir Omar, Al-Jazeera correspondent in Cairo.

Al-Jazeera bureau chief called the detention of the crew, including Samir Omar, an Egyptian correspondent, and producer Ahmed Anwar, in the State Security Service, unjustified.

“We are balanced in our coverage of events of Egypt. We often allocate airtime to the long meetings of the ruling party,” Abdel-Ghani said.

Al-Jazeera has come under a recent wave of growing criticism on Egyptian state-run TV channels for its programs dedicated to discussing reforms in Egypt and hosting opposition leaders.

In November, Abdel-Halim Qandil, an executive editor of an Egyptian newspaper, accused the Egyptian interior minister of ordering his torture because of his calls for reforms and anti-Mubarak fiery.

Al-Jazeera detentions also came two days after Human Rights Watch slammed Egyptian authorities in a report saying that scores of alleged Islamist militants have been sent back to Egypt, where they have faced torture and serious mistreatment.