Egypt arrests British-Lebanese television host: Ex-husband

Egyptian security forces on Monday arrested Liliane Daoud, a British-Lebanese dual national and political talk show host at a local television channel, her ex-husband told AFP.

"Eight men who said they were from the border police force took her to an unknown location after taking her telephone and her British passport," Khaled al-Berri said.

The men said they would check whether the journalist's residence permit was valid, and that she would otherwise face deportation.

The prominent TV talk show host's arrest came after her contract with Egyptian OTV television expired, Berri said.

Daoud, a former BBC journalist, has faced a barrage of online criticism in recent months over accusations she is close to the opposition to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's rule.

Egypt's journalism union in May accused the authorities of declaring war on media freedom.

Earlier this month, the European Union called the indictment of three top journalists' union members "a worrying development".

Human rights activists accuse Sisi of running an ultra-authoritarian government that has violently suppressed all opposition since toppling democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.