Broadcaster pursues $150m international arbitration claim due to the enforced closure of its business in Cairo, and the arrest and harassment of its journalists

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Al-Jazeera has formally launched its international arbitration claim against Egypt’s military government following what it regards as a prolonged campaign against its business and its journalists.

According to a press release issued by the London law firm, Carter Ruck, the Qatar-based broadcaster’s action is being taken under the jurisdiction of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington DC.

As long ago as September 2013, Al-Jazeera first announced that it would seek legal redress against the Egypt. And in April 2014, it served a formal notice of dispute on Egypt, citing breaches of the 1999 Qatar-Egypt bilateral investment treaty.

The terms of the treaty required that Al-Jazeera refrain from a formal process of arbitration for a period of at least six months to enable the parties to discuss a settlement. Egypt did not engage in such discussions.

Now, says Carter Ruck, “having allowed a further 12 months to pass, in the vain hope that Egypt would be willing to talk”, Al-Jazeera has submitted its formal arbitration request to ICSID’s secretary-general. It was registered on 20 January.

The press release states that several journalists working for Al-Jazeera were arrested and harassed in the months following the July 2013 overthrow of the government led by President Mohammed Morsi by the Egyptian military.

The release further states that some of the broadcaster’s staff were detained without charge while others were subjected to what it calls “spurious and politically motivated charges.”

Among them were three journalists - Peter Greste, Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy - who were sentenced to seven years and more in prison in June 2014.

Greste, having been released from jail in February 2015, was re-convicted in absentia. Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy were pardoned and eventually released from prison in September 2015.

Their freedom occurred shortly before Egypt’s current president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, was due to address the UN general assembly in New York.

According to the Carter Ruck statement, “numerous” other Al-Jazeera journalists have been convicted by Egyptian courts in absentia. It further claims that the company’s offices in Cairo have suffered attacks by the military, police and gangs supporting Sisi’s government.

And the statement alleges that Al-Jazeera’s transmissions were subject to jamming before its licence to broadcast in Egypt was cancelled while its local branch was compulsorily liquidated.

Carter Ruck states: “As well as being in breach of its obligations under international law generally, Egypt’s actions have placed it in clear breach of its obligations under the Qatar-Egypt bilateral investment treaty.

“It requires that investors be afforded fair and equitable treatment by the governments of both countries and provides other enforceable rights.”

Under the treaty, Egypt was obliged to treat Al-Jazeera “in a manner consistent with its obligations under international human rights treaties” such as respecting its right to freedom of expression.

Al-Jazeera argues that, due to Egypt’s actions, it has suffered losses of at least $150m (£105m).

An Al-Jazeera spokesman quoted in the press release said the company had been left with no option but to take legal action.

He spoke of hopes that the arbitration “will allow an impartial, international tribunal to render its own judgment on politically motivated prosecutions and false charges to which Egypt has subjected a number of our journalists.”

A spokesman at Egypt’s London consulate said: “We have no comment to make on this at the present time.”

*This article was amended on 4 February 2016. An earlier version failed to make clear that statements and allegations about what happened to Al-Jazeera journalists, the company’s offices and their licence to broadcast were part of the Carter Ruck press release. We have now also appended a response from the Egyptian government.