Jamal Elshayyal (born c. 1984) is a British journalist, senior correspondent, and producer for

Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; , ) is a 24-hour English-language News broadcasting, news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is funded by the government of Qatar. Al Jazeera introduced an English-language division in 2006. It is ...

. His focus is on countries within the

MENA The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also called West Asia) and North Africa together ...

and

Gulf Cooperation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ), is a Regional integration, regional, intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental, political, and economic union comprising Ba ...

Early life

Elshayyal was born c. 1984 in Scotland and has at least one brother, Abdul Rahman. They are of Egyptian heritage. Elshayyal studied economics and Arabic at University of London's

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

. At university, he was an executive for the National Union of Students.

Career

Elshayyal started his career in the political sector, earning the title of "youngest ever candidate for a major political party in the British elections" in 2006 when he stood in Uxbridge South. The same year, he joined Al Jazeera English a freelance consultant, then helped launch its Middle East desk as its first Middle East editor. Elshayyal spent his first few years working in Al Jazeera's studio in

Doha, Qatar Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It is also Qatar's ...

. His first field reporting experience was in May 2010 when he boarded the MV ''Mavi Marmara'' in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

as part of the

Gaza Freedom Flotilla The 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla was a small fleet of ships by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH) carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials with the ...

aid delivery to the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. In the early hours of the morning, before going to sleep, Elshayyal contacted Al Jazeera to tell them not to expect anything major just yet; this was the last report to leave the boat before all communication channels were cut off by Israeli troops. He later noted that that event was the first time he "saw someone shot and killed in front of" him. After the boat was attacked, Elshayyal was handcuffed by Israeli soldiers and taken to prison in

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

. He was released the following afternoon but remained in Israeli custody. Major events covered by Elshayyal include the

2011 Egyptian revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution (;), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police holiday" as a statement against ...

, the

First Libyan Civil War The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...

, the Syrian civil war, the

Yemeni Revolution The Yemeni revolution (or Yemeni intifada) followed the initial stages of the Tunisian revolution and occurred simultaneously with the 2011 Egyptian revolution and other Arab Spring, Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and North Africa. ...

, the

2013 Egyptian coup d'état The 2013 Egyptian coup d'etat or the Counter-revolutionary, Counter-revolution is an event that took place on 3 July 2013. Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi led a coalition to remove the democratically elected President of Egypt ...

, the

Houthi takeover in Yemen The Houthi takeover in Yemen, also known by the Houthis as the September 21 Revolution, or 2014–15 Yemeni coup d'état (by opponents), was a popular revolution against Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi led by the Houthis and their suppo ...

, the

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt In the evening of 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted ...

, and the 2018

assassination of Jamal Khashoggi On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist, was killed by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Khashoggi was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi operatives. His body w ...

. During the Egyptian Revolution, he was based in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and reported from both

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

. During the Fall of Kabul in 2021, he was in Doha. His exclusive reporting for Al Jazeera includes "secret documents from inside

Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his assassination by Libyan rebel forces in 2011. He came to power ...

's intelligence HQ and uncovering torture and

human rights abuses Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

inside Egyptian prisons." Throughout his career, Elshayyal has acted as advisor on terrorism, community relations, and racism to the Metropolitan Police, the mayor of London, the

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

, and the Department for Education and Skills.

Personal life

Elshayyal had returned from his honeymoon days before the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elshayyal, Jamal 1984 births Alumni of SOAS University of London Living people British reporters and correspondents Scottish political journalists Scottish people of Egyptian descent Al Jazeera people Imprisoned journalists Gaza flotilla raid