Al-Jazeera journalist detained in Germany

A senior Al-Jazeera journalist has been arrested in Germany at the request of Egypt, according to reports.

Ahmed Mansour, who works for Al-Jazeera’s Arabic-language service, was detained as he tried to board a flight from Berlin to Qatar.

A German police official said Egyptian authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for Mr Mansour, after a court in Cairo sentenced him to 15 years in prison in absentia last year on torture charges.

Relations between Qatar, which owns al-Jazeera, and Egypt have been strained in recent years

Al-Jazeera says the claims made against Mr Mansour, who has dual British and Egyptian citizenship, are absurd and false.

"I am still under arrest at Berlin airport, waiting to be taken before an investigating judge," Mr Mansour, 52, posted to Twitter on Saturday night.

The Egyptian arrest warrant accuses Mr Mansour of committing "several crimes" but further details are not available. Al-Jazeera reports that he is expected to remain in custody until Monday when he will go in front of a German judge.

Al-Jazeera said the Egyptian warrant had previously been rejected by international police body Interpol as it did not meet its rules.

In a video recorded while detained, Mr Mansour described the incident as a "misunderstanding" and said he hoped it would be resolved quickly. "It is quite ludicrous that a country like Germany would enforce and support such a request made by a dictatorial regime like the one we have in Egypt," he added.