Egypt military arrests BBC journalist

2011-08-02 13:05

Cairo - Egypt's military arrested a BBC journalist when it cleared out a central Cairo protest that left several protesters injured and dozens detained, the British broadcaster said on Tuesday.

Shaimaa Khalil was detained on Monday after the military, backed by riot police, cleared the three-week sit-in in Tahrir Square, it said in a statement.

"We are very concerned at the detention of Shaimaa Khalil in Cairo. She is a fine journalist, simply doing her job. We are doing all we can to secure her release," the BBC's press office said.

Khalil had been posting updates on Twitter before her arrest.

""Careful!' someone just told me. 'They arrest anyone taking photos," she wrote.

Witnesses said soldiers and police beat demonstrators and broke mobile phones, targeting anyone taking pictures.

A legal rights group, the Front for Defending Protester Detainees in Egypt, said that more than 80 people were arrested.

The protesters in Tahrir had refused to end their sit-in after political factions withdrew for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started in Egypt on Tuesday.

- AFP