PERSON: Ayman Mohyeldin

Foreign Correspondent

Ayman Mohyeldin is an Egyptian-American journalist based in Los Angeles for NBC News. He previously worked for Al Jazeera and CNN. Ayman was one of the first Western journalists allowed to enter and report on the handing over and trial of the deposed President of Iraq Saddam Hussein by the Iraqi Interim Government for crimes against humanity. More recently, Ayman has covered the Gaza War as well as the Arab Spring.

Mohyeldin began his career in journalism working at NBC, as a desk assistant for the Washington D.C. bureau. Mohyeldin first major assignments happened shortly after 9/11.

Mohyeldin’s coverage of major news events in the Arab World and Middle East include the Iraq War, the first multi-candidate presidential Egyptian elections in 2005, Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the 2005 Palestinian elections in the Gaza Strip. He has covered the Sharm al-Sheikh resort bombing (July 2005) and the Jordan Hotel bombings (November 2005).

As a producer, Mohyeldin became the first journalist to enter one of Libya’s nuclear research facilities after producing Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi’s first interview announcing Libya would abandon all WMD programs. Mohyeldin’s work in the CNN documentary ‘Iraq:progress report’ about the daily struggles of Iraqis during the war was nominated for an Emmy Award. He served as an associate producer for the NBC News Special that also received Emmy nominations for Ship at War: Inside the Carrier Stennis and Inside the Real West Wing. Mohyeldin has also covered the annual Muslim Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca and was involved in the production of CNN specials ‘Islam: The Struggle Within’ and ‘Hajj: A Spiritual Journey.’

In 2008–2009, Mohyeldin covered the Israeli attack on Gaza. The coverage of his reporting, along with Sherine Tadros has been released in the documentary ‘The War Around Us’. He reported on the intricate network of tunnels that were once used for smuggling of weapons and people across the Egyptian-Gaza border and are now a vital route into Gaza for medicine, food and fuel supplies.

In 2011 Mohyeldin left Al Jazeera English and returned to NBC where he extensively covered the second “Arab Uprising” in Egypt in 2013. He also covered the unrest in Ukraine, and most recently the unrest in Iraq.

Mohyeldin covered the 2011 Egyptian Revolution for Al Jazeera English. On January 28, 2011, Ayman broadcast from the Al Jazeera news building in Cairo for several hours straight, reporting on the Egyptian protests as protesters and Egyptian police battled for control of the 6th October Bridge. On January 30, Anis El Fekki of the Egyptian Interior Ministry revoked Al Jazeera’s broadcast license and forced the closure of their Cairo bureau, claiming the network was conspiring with opposition groups to overthrow the government. Ayman was one of five Al Jazeera journalists arrested and briefly detained by Egyptian authorities the following day, after the network refused to cease broadcasting upon the loss of their accreditation.

In the summer of 2013 Ayman extensively covered the removal of President Mohamed Morsi from power In Egypt. That fall he also extensively covered the Syrian civil war and the effects of refugees overflowing into neighboring Lebanon. Mohyeldin also covered the agreement of Syria to dispose of their chemical weapons program.

During the uprisings in Ukraine in 2014, Ayman covered extensively in both Kiev and Donetsk. He traveled to the border in Eastern Ukraine and reported on Russian troop buildup, and the Ukrainian response. He also went “behind the scenes” into the occupied government buildings to report.

— Wikipedia