The jailing of three Al-Jazeera journalists, and the sentencing in absentia of their colleagues, by an Egyptian court, has provoked an international outcry and raised fears of growing media restrictions in Egypt.

Egyptian security forces have arrested journalists working for the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera network over alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood, the leading Islamist group that was last week branded a “terrorist” organisation, the interior ministry said.