CAIRO: International watchdogs called Friday on Egyptian authorities to release a journalist who works for the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network that Egypt accuses of bias toward the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

The statements from Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International mark one year since the arrest of Mahmoud Hussein, believed to have been arrested while in Egypt on vacation. They say Hussein's detention is for "no apparent reason" and "without proper due process."

Egypt is among Arab nations who cut ties with Qatar in June over allegations that it supports terrorism and that it uses Al-Jazeera as a mouthpiece to destabilize the region. They demanded Qatar shut down the widely viewed network.

Egypt is among the world's top jailers of journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.