ABU DHABI: The UAE on Tuesday said two Swiss journalists had been “stopped for questioning” after the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi last week but declined to confirm their arrest.
The statement comes after Swiss public broadcaster RTS said two of its journalists, accredited to cover the opening, were arrested on Thursday while shooting images in an outdoor market and held for two days.
The National Media Council, the UAE’s media regulatory body, on Tuesday released a statement saying reporter Serge Enderlin and cameraman Jon Bjorgvinsson had been “stopped for questioning” in an industrial area of Abu Dhabi and later released without charge.
“After the official opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, police witnessed the journalists trespassing at a secured location in Mussaffah and stopped them for questioning,” the council said, without providing a date or further details.
“Police later transported the reporters for further questioning at the police station and subsequently released them without charge.”
An Emirati official declined to confirm the duration of the questioning and said no official arrest had taken place.
RTS earlier said Enderlin and Bjorgvinsson, who arrived in the UAE early last week, were held for more than 50 hours, with no possibility to communicate with the outside world.
The broadcaster said the journalists were interrogated for up to nine hours at a time, blindfolded as they were shuttled between different locations.
It reported their camera, computers, hard drives and other material were confiscated.
Enderlin and Bjorgvinsson said authorities were focused on wanting to know why they were shooting images in the marketplace, seemingly angered by the fact that Pakistani workers had been filmed.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi was officially inaugurated on Wednesday and opened its doors to the public on Saturday. It is the first museum to carry the famed French name outside of France.
UAE says Swiss reporters ‘stopped for questioning’ after Louvre launch
UAE says Swiss reporters ‘stopped for questioning’ after Louvre launch
US, Qatar, Egypt, Turkiye urge restraint in Gaza after Miami talks
- Top officials from each nation met with Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, to review the first stage of the ceasefire
MIAMI: The US was joined Saturday by Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye in urging parties in the Gaza ceasefire to uphold their obligations and exercise restraint, the chief US envoy said after talks in Miami.
Top officials from each nation met with Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, to review the first stage of the ceasefire that came into effect on October 10.
“We reaffirm our full commitment to the entirety of the President’s 20-point peace plan and call on all parties to uphold their obligations, exercise restraint, and cooperate with monitoring arrangements,” said a statement posted by Witkoff on X.
Their meeting came amid continuing strains on the agreement.
Gaza’s civil defense said six people were killed Friday in Israeli shelling of a shelter. That brought to 400 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since the deal took effect.
Israel has also repeatedly accused Hamas of violating the truce, with the military reporting of its three soldiers killed in the territory since October.
Saturday’s statement cited progress yielded in the first stage of the peace agreement, including expanded humanitarian assistance, return of hostage bodies, partial force withdrawals and a reduction in hostilities.
It called for “the near-term establishment and operationalization” of a transitional administration which is due to happen in the second phase of the agreement, and said consultations would continue in the coming weeks over its implementation.
Under the deal’s terms, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, an interim authority is to govern the Palestinian territory instead of Hamas, and an international stabilization force is to be deployed.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope that countries would contribute troops for the stabilization force, but also urged the disarmament of Hamas, warning the process would unravel unless that happened.
