Egypt arrests al-Jazeera journalist over "fake torture videos"

[DoYouEverWonder]

14 January 2007

A journalist working for Arabic TV news channel al-Jazeera has been arrested in Egypt for allegedly fabricating videos of police torturing suspects.

Huweida Taha Metwalli was stopped on her way to Qatar and 50 video tapes were found in her luggage, the Egyptian interior ministry said.

She is reportedly charged with "tarnishing Egypt's reputation and harming Egyptian national interests".

Al-Jazeera said the tapes showed a "documentary reconstruction" by actors.

Human rights groups say it is not unusual for suspects to be tortured in Egyptian police stations.

Video of police apparently sexually assaulting a man provoked outrage when it appeared on the web last year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6260285.stm


There's a big difference between a "documentary reconstruction" and 'fabricating videos'.

[annabanana]

1. I don't like "documentary reconstructions" at all. .

The first time I saw one was on "America's Most Wanted". It seemed to me, from the beginning, a construct ripe for disinformation. I'm not commenting on this particular case, they may be right on the money on this one. . BUT, In a world where people can mistake soap opera actors for the real thing, "documentary reconstructions" are pernicious to the news business...

[Igel]

2. I don't like reconstructions like that at all, either.

But I make a distinction between reconstructions for 'documentaries', where it's so often the case that they show things they can't possibly be showing that 'documentary' does not mean 'documenting', and newscasts that are usually taken to be documenting what's happened.

If the person caught was doing it for the former, maybe; if for the later, either the charge is true or there should be an ethical investigation.