Egypt to Charge Al Jazeera Journalists

Egyptian prosecutors said they would charge 20 employees of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news network with a range of offenses including joining a terrorist organization and broadcasting false news.

The development marks a sharp legal escalation against dissenting voices in the media. The military-backed government that ousted President Mohammed Morsi in July has cracked down on his Muslim Brotherhood political organization and on media outlets that offer independent coverage, observers say. The network, with its Arabic and English broadcasts, has provided a rare critical voice in its coverage of the aftermath of the coup. Al Jazeera has denied any bias and has demanded that previously detained members of its staff be released. In a statement, Al Jazeera said it hadn't been formally notified of the charges against its journalists by Egyptian authorities but called the allegations "absurd, baseless and false." Prosecutors, in a statement, said the 16 defendants who are Egyptian would be charged with joining a banned terrorist organization, an apparent reference to the Brotherhood, which the government has declared illegal. Prosecutors said the four foreigners, from Australia, Britain and the Netherlands, aided the banned group with funding and equipment to broadcast false news.