Al Jazeera files $150m claim with Egypt for damage to media business

The Qatar-based satellite network Al Jazeera served Egypt with a $150 million compensation claim yesterday for what it said was damage to its media business inflicted by Cairo’s military rulers, a step likely to worsen Qatari-Egyptian relations.

In a move aimed at drawing attention to what Al Jazeera calls Egypt’s unacceptable treatment of it and its journalists, a lawyer acting for the pan-Arab channel said he had handed a legal document detailing the claim to a representative of the Egyptian government.

Egypt had begun a “sustained campaign” against Al Jazeera and its journalists after the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July last year, said Cameron Doley, a lawyer at London law firm Carter-Ruck, which is handling the case.

“Al Jazeera invested substantial sums in Egypt,” said Mr Doley. “The effect of this recent campaign by the military government is that this investment has been expropriated. Egypt is bound by international law to pay Al Jazeera just and effective compensation.”

Six months
Cairo had six months to settle the claim, filed in the context of a bilateral investment treaty, he said, or face an international tribunal. There was no immediate comment from the Egyptian authorities.

Al Jazeera has invested at least $90 million in operations in Egypt since it started broadcasting in the Arab world’s largest country in 2001, according to company figures.

That stake has included infrastructure and running costs for its four channels, purchase of fixed assets like broadcasting equipment, regulatory fees paid to the Egyptian state, and staff costs.

The $150 million claim would also cover anticipated future losses arising from the effective shutdown of Al Jazeera’s Egypt operations, Mr Doley said.

Qatar, a Gulf Arab monarchy that funds Al Jazeera, backs Mr Morsi’s deposed Muslim Brotherhood, which Cairo has declared a “terrorist” group. Qatari ties with Egypt have been strained since the army ousted Mr Morsi after mass unrest against his rule.

Three Al Jazeera journalists are being tried in Egypt on charges of aiding members of a “terrorist organisation”, in a case that human rights groups say shows the authorities are trampling on freedom of expression. – (Reuters)