June 23, 2014
An Egyptian court has found a Dutch journalist guilty of assisting the banned Muslim Brotherhood, and sentenced her to 10 years in jail, in absentia. The journalist left Cairo in February following the intervention of the Dutch Embassy. The Netherlands does not have an extradition treaty with Egypt.
Rena Netjes is one of a group of journalists on trial for supporting the now banned group and spreading false news. Three other journalists for Al Jazeera were sentenced to 7 years in jail for the same offences. They had spent the past six months in a Cairo jail.
Netjes had contact with Al Jazeera staff as part of her job working for Dutch media outlets. Egyptian authorities say the broadcaster supports the Muslim Brotherhood.
