The Doha-based broadcaster has defended itself after Saudia Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates ordered Qatar to comply with a list of demands, including the closing of Al Jazeera, or face further sanctions.
Al Jazeera is accused of being a platform for extremists; a claim it denies.
“At Al Jazeera, we believe that any call for closing down or obstructing access to our channels is nothing but an attempt to silence freedom of expression and to suppress people's right to information and the right to be heard,” it said in an online response.
To those who demand that Al Jazeera be shut down. We too have demands. #DemandPressFreedom #JournalismIsNotACrime pic.twitter.com/9eFFhYhewC — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 3, 2017
“We demand journalists be able to do their jobs free from intimidation and threat.”
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“We demand diversity of thought and opinion be cherished, not feared.”
Al Jazeera journalists from around the world have featured in a video calling for press freedom.
Senior Al Jazeera Correspondent Jamal Elshayyal, said "It is beyond ironic that the countries who are accusing us of supporting terrorism are the countries who either were directly involved in the setting up of groups like the Taliban or al-Qaida.”
“Or they are countries who have more than 5,000 of their nationals on wanted lists in the United States, or they are countries who have in total 18 nationals who were involved in the bombing of the Twin Towers on September 11, or they are countries who the vast majority of ISIS.”
The crisis began on June 5 when the four Gulf nations cut ties with Qatar over allegations the country funds extremist groups and has overly warm ties to Iran.
Qatar has long denied funding extremists while it maintains communication with Iran as the two countries share a massive offshore natural gas field.
The deadline for Qatar to comply with the list of demands has been extended until late Tuesday.
