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EGYPT: Al Jazeera correspondent describes his detention

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A correspondent for Al Jazeera’s English-language network said Monday that he was cuffed, blindfolded and held for hours by Egyptian military police near Tahrir Square the previous day.

Ayman Mohyeldin, a U.S. citizen, told the network he was detained on his way to the square, which has been the center of anti-government protests in Cairo. He said he was taken to a separate holding area, where at least two other journalists were being held along with numerous protesters.

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He said the protesters appeared to have been stopped because they lacked identification documents or had behaved in a way that the military found objectionable.

“A lot of these people were beaten up,” he said. “The military was dealing with them in a very aggressive manner. They were slapped, they were kicked … Many of them were crying.”

Mohyeldin said he was questioned repeatedly before he was released.

Dozens of journalists have been detained while covering the unrest, though most have been released within 24 hours. Government officials say authorities have been instructed to allow journalists to do their work.

-- Alexandra Zavis

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