Al Jazeera vows to take legal action over jamming of signal in Egypt

Qatar’s state-run broadcaster Al Jazeera has pledged to take legal action against those responsible for blocking its satellite signal intentionally in Egypt since the ouster of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi by the country’s military in early July.

“The Al Jazeera Network condemns the jamming of its operations…In reaction to this clear violation of broadcasting rights, Al Jazeera has decided to take legal advice and action against those who are responsible for the jamming of the signal,” Al Jazeera said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement said Egypt’s interim government has been harassing Al Jazeera. “This harassment is suffered by the network as a whole and its crew working on the ground.”

“The tactics followed by Egyptian authorities include intimidation, threats, judicial action, raids on Al Jazeera offices and the imprisonment of some of the channel network’s staff without any charge,” it added.

The media network said earlier this week that its team of experts recognized locations east and west of the Egyptian capital Cairo where the jamming appeared to be originating.

The jamming of the Arab broadcaster was traced to sites near Egyptian military bases including the military intelligence headquarters and the army’s public-relations department.

Al Jazeera’s offices in Cairo have been shut down since July 3, when they were attacked by Egyptian security forces hours after Morsi was ousted.

Since then, the North African country has been the scene of increasing violence.

The army-appointed government has launched a bloody crackdown on Morsi supporters and arrested more than 2,000 Muslim Brotherhood members.

Hundreds of people have lost their lives in the violence between Morsi supporters and the security forces so far.

The massacre sparked international condemnation and prompted world bodies to call for an independent investigation into the violence.