Ex-cameraman crusading to smear Al Jazeera reputation

ISTANBUL (AA) – Former Al Jazeera cameraman Mohamed Fawzi is suing the Doha-based news television for neglect and endangering the lives of journalists working in Egypt.

Fawzi, along with a group of journalists, was detained in Egypt in 2013 on charges of stoking unrest and publishing false news.
He, however, was anonymously released from prison and sought refuge in the United States.

Since then, he has been accusing Al Jazeera of neglecting journalistic ethics and endangering the lives of journalists by sending them to Egypt without proper operational licenses.

However, hacked e-mails obtained by Anadolu Agency show that the former cameraman was collaborating with Egyptian security agencies during his work with the Doha-based television.

In one of the mails, Fawzi accuses an Egyptian security agent, who was given the name Temo Kamal, of destroying his life by getting him work with the Qatari television.

He asks Kamal to intervene to reverse a government decision to ban him from entering Egypt, wondering how the regime "was keen on destroying his loyalists".

Kamal responds in another mail that he had helped free him from prison after being detained along with other Al Jazeera journalists in 2013.

He also blamed the former cameraman for working with Al Jazeera, saying that Fawzi had sought to cooperate with the security agencies in the first place.

Anadolu Agency has sought comment from Fawzi on the allegations, but he refused to speak.

Kamal also refused to comment when he was contacted by Anadolu Agency.

A source in Al Jazeera television, meanwhile, said the pan-Arab television will look into the mails before giving comment.

Earlier this month, The New York Times revealed that former Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy had received $250,000 from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ambassador in Washington to fund his lawsuit against the Qatari television.

Fahmy, an Egyptian-Canadian, was jailed by an Egyptian court for three years on charges of stoking unrest. He was later deported after he gave up his Egyptian nationality under an Egyptian law that allows the deportation of foreigners to be tried in their home country.

-Collaboration

The mails also show that Fawzi was giving Egyptian security agencies the details about Al Jazeera programs.

In one of the mails, the former cameraman speaks about an event held by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party at the Harvard University that would be aired on Al Jazeera television.

The mails also unveil coordination between Fawzi and security agencies regarding his lawsuit against Al Jazeera.

He says in the mail that his lawsuit focuses on "Al Jazeera's neglect of its staff in Egypt due to its agenda for supporting extremist groups".

He also says in the mail that the jailing of Al Jazeera journalists was due to "the channel's refusal to commit by the decision to cancel its operational licenses in Egypt".

The mails also reveal that Fawzi has contracted with the same law firm of his former Al Jazeera colleague Mohamed Fahmy.

It also shows that the same agency that provides media coverage for the lawsuits of both Fahmy and Fawzi is the same.

Al Jazeera is the focus of a dispute between Qatar and four Arab states, who severed all trade and diplomatic ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

The four states – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain, presented a list of demands, including the closure of Al Jazeera television, or face further sanctions.

Qatar, for its part, denies the accusations, saying the blockade was in violation of international law.