Al Jazeera journalists freed on bail

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 12 Februari 2015 | 19.15

12 February 2015 Last updated at 11:44

A court in Egypt has ordered the release on bail of two Al Jazeera journalists, at the start of their retrial on the charge of spreading false news to help a terrorist group.

Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were imprisoned in June along with their Australian colleague, Peter Greste.

Egypt's top appeals court overturned their convictions last month.

Mr Greste was freed last week under a law allowing the deportation of foreign nationals to their home countries.

Mr Fahmy has given up his Egyptian citizenship to qualify for deportation to Canada, but Mr Mohamed has no foreign passport.

The journalists strenuously deny collaborating with the banned Muslim Brotherhood after the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi by the military in 2013. They say they were jailed simply for reporting the news.

'Worst nightmare'

The first trial of the journalists was widely condemned internationally, and the Court of Cassation ruled on 1 January the the Cairo Criminal Court had been "hasty in pronouncing its verdict".

On Monday, the deputy head of the Court of Cassation, Judge Anwar Gabry, said prosecutors had failed to present conclusive evidence that the defendants helped the Brotherhood or promoted the group.

Timeline: Journalists' detention
  • 29 December 2013: Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy arrested in police raid on Cairo's Marriott Hotel. Baher Mohamed later arrested at home
  • 29 January 2014: 20 people including the three journalists referred to trial, charged with spreading false news, belonging to a terrorist organisation and operating without a permit
  • 22 February: First court appearance of the three journalists
  • 23 June: Defendants sentenced to seven years, with Baher Mohamed receiving an additional three years
  • 12 November: President Sisi signs decree allowing repatriation of foreign prisoners
  • 1 January 2015: Highest court orders retrial, but the three journalists not allowed bail
  • 1 February 2015: Peter Greste freed and deported, his two colleagues remain behind bars

How journalists were jailed in Egypt

Who are the jailed journalists?

He also said the trial had failed to investigate claims that the defendants had given testimony under duress, and as a result "the Court of Cassation is unable to show how right or wrong the verdict is".

Families of the journalists worry the process may not be fairer the second time around, reports the BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo.

Mr Fahmy's relatives have described the retrial as their worst nightmare.

Canadian officials have called for his immediate release, saying there were assurances that he would be freed with Mr Greste.

"We blame the Canadian government and the Canadian embassy for not doing enough," Mr Fahmy's fiancee, Marwa Omara, told the BBC's World Update programme.

"They kept telling us: 'Don't worry. Mohamed will be released in a matter of days.' So I quit my job and packed my bags... And I was just waiting for a call from them to go to the airport and meet Mohamed there. But this call didn't happen."

Mr Mohamed's wife, Jihan, said the case should have ended with Mr Greste's departure, and she hoped her husband would be released soon. She said it was unjust for him to be on trial when a colleague convicted in the case was already a free man.

Mr Greste said his thoughts were with his colleagues.

Peter Greste

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After his return to Australia, Peter Greste told the BBC's Andrew Harding his mother ''smacked him over the ear'' and told him ''not to do it again''

"Strange feeling to watch my cell mates and brothers Fahmy & Baher in court from the outside. My heart is in the cage with them #FreeAJStaff," he wrote on Twitter.

President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, the former military chief who ousted Mr Morsi, has said he will not consider a pardon before the courts have finished their work.

The initial trial took place amid strained relations between Egypt and Qatar, which owns Al Jazeera and supported Mr Morsi.

But in recent months, Qatar has expelled several senior Brotherhood leaders it was hosting and also suspended broadcasts by Al Jazeera's Egyptian affiliate, Mubasher Misr.


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