Egyptian Security Forces Raid Turkish News Agency in Cairo

Date: 15 January 2020 - 22:05

News ID: ۷۵۱۲۰

CAIRO (Reuters) – Turkey has summoned a senior Egyptian diplomat to protest what it says was a raid by Egyptian security forces on the Cairo office of Turkey’s state-run news agency, in which four people were detained.
The Anadolu news agency said the four employees, including one Turkish national, had been taken to an undisclosed location after the raid.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the move, which it described as "an act of violence” against Anadolu. It later said that it also summoned the Egyptian charge d’affaires over the matter.
"This act of violence against Anadolu not only shows the Egyptian leadership’s hostile stance toward the freedom of the press, but also once again shows its grave conditions on democracy and transparency,” the ministry said.
It called on Egyptian authorities to immediately release the detained Anadolu personnel.
Ankara’s ties with Cairo have been poor since the Egyptian army ousted Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Mursi, an ally of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in 2013. The two countries have also been at odds over maritime jurisdiction and offshore resources in the eastern Mediterranean.
A spokesman for Egypt’s interior ministry was not immediately available for comment.
Turkey’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun described the raid as a "hostile attempt against Anadolu employees by Egypt’s putschist leadership”, adding that Ankara called on the international community to condemn the move.