CAIRO, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Egypt confirmed on Sunday that it had arrested an Al Jazeera news producer, accusing him of "provoking sedition" on behalf of the Qatar-based broadcaster that it considers a mouthpiece of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Egyptian Mahmoud Hussein was arrested at his house Friday, having been accused of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood movement and producing fake news. The Interior Ministry said Hussein, an Egyptian, was arrested for alleged involvement in “implementing a plot by Al Jazeera aimed at stirring sedition and inciting against state institutions.”

Egyptian government officials had repeatedly accused Al Jazeera of bias toward deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group, an accusation denied by the broadcaster. This is the latest in a series of Egyptian arrests of Al-Jazeera journalists, further raising concerns over the freedom of journalists working in the country. Meanwhile, two separate Al Jazeera employees were sentenced to death in absentia this June for passing secret state documents to Qatar, renewing tensions between the two nations. The Brotherhood is a Qatar-backed movement that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has cracked down on since an army takeover in 2013 stripped former president Mohammed Morsi — a prominent member of the group — of power following mass protests against his rule.
A producer of Al Jazeera is arrested in Egypt.