Qatar's Al Jazeera files $150 million damages claim with Egypt

LONDON — The Qatar-based satellite network Al Jazeera served Egypt with a $150 million compensation claim on Monday for what it said was damage to its business inflicted by Cairo's military rulers, a step likely to worsen Qatari-Egyptian relations.

In a move aimed at drawing attention to what Al Jazeera calls Egypt's unacceptable treatment of it and its journalists, a lawyer acting for the pan-Arab channel told Reuters he had handed a legal document detailing the claim to a representative of the Egyptian government.

Egypt had begun a "sustained campaign" against Al Jazeera and its journalists after the army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July last year, said Cameron Doley, a lawyer at London law firm Carter-Ruck, which is handling the case.

Qatar, a Gulf Arab monarchy that funds Al Jazeera, backs Mursi's deposed Muslim Brotherhood, which Cairo has declared a "terrorist" group. Qatari ties with Egypt have been strained since the army ousted Mursi after mass unrest against his rule.