Egyptian flag
Egyptian flagAbed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90

Egypt confirmed on Sunday reports claiming Al Jazeera news producer Mahmoud Hussein was arrested on charges of disturbing public security and spreading false news.

Hussein was detained on Friday for "provoking sedition" and aiding the illegal Muslim Brotherhood.

Hussein denies the charges against him and insists on being released immediately. He also said he was arrested upon arrival in the airport.

According to an Al Jazeera statement, Hussein "is a news producer in the Al Jazeera Arabic newsroom and not a correspondent supervisor as alleged by the statement" and "would not have traveled through the airport at Egypt if he was undertaking any illegal activities.

"Al Jazeera holds the Egyptian authorities against subjecting Hussein to torture or extracting any information from him by force."

Egypt's Interior Ministry said Al Jazeera "had ordered some individuals collaborating with the channel inside the country to continue implementing its media plan of provoking sedition, incitement against the state, and spreading chaos through broadcasting false news."

Several Al Jazeera employees have been arrested by Egyptian authorities in the past few years.