EGYPT-AL JAZEERA/GRESTE INTERVIEW Al Jazeera's Peter Greste "devastated" by verdict

Record ID: 142135

  • Title: EGYPT-AL JAZEERA/GRESTE INTERVIEW Al Jazeera's Peter Greste "devastated" by verdict
  • Date: 29th August 2015
  • Summary: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (AUGUST 29, 2015) (REUTERS) AUSTRALIAN JOURNALIST PETER GRESTE SITTING AT DESK WITH LAPTOP GRESTE WITH LEGAL TEAM: GILBERT AND TOBIN PARTNER CHRIS FLYNN (L) AND BARRISTER CHRISTOPHER WARD (R) FLYNN AND WARD TALKING TO GRESTE GRESTE AT TABLE WITH LAPTOP GRESTE TYPING ON KEYBOARD (SOUNDBITE) (English) AL JAZEERA JOURNALIST, PETER GRESTE, SAYING: "Look, I'm really devastated by this. The fact is that there was never any evidence presented in court to confirm these charges. Every single independent observer recognised that and said as much and so the only conclusion that we can possibly come to is this verdict was politically motivated, because there is no basis in the evidence. Now, it's devastating enough for me and my career, it means I won't be able to travel to any country that has an extradition treaty with Egypt. It means that I'll carry a conviction as a terrorist. But, that's just an inconvenience compared to what my colleagues are having to go through. I know what the conditions are like in an Egyptian prison. I know how tough it is going to be for them and I also know their families. Baher is leaving behind a one-year-old baby boy and it sickens me to my stomach to know what these guys are going to have to go through, and their families are going to have to go through, when they are innocent men." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) AL JAZEERA JOURNALIST, PETER GRESTE, SAYING: "We weren't doing anything illegal, much less immoral, or unethical. We didn't broadcast propaganda, we didn't falsify news and again, the prosecutor never presented any evidence that we did falsify news, there was nothing there. And so, beyond the work of a good professional journalist, we had no inappropriate relationship with the Brotherhood whatsoever." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) AL JAZEERA JOURNALIST, PETER GRESTE, SAYING: "Well, we were always concerned that the court might feel that it needed to give a conviction to save face in this, but we never, ever anticipated that there would be a custodial sentence like this. There is no basis in this, there's no reason. It's hard to understand how the court could have concluded that we're guilty of anything, much less deserving of prison sentences of three years and three and a half years, it's just devastating." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) AL JAZEERA JOURNALIST, PETER GRESTE, SAYING: "We're going to pursue every legal option that we have. The other guys in particular have the possibility of appealing to the court of cassations. I haven't spoken to them or their colleagues about that. I don't know quite what their plans are, we'll need a bit of time to digest this. We also have the option of going directly to the president to ask for a pardon. The fact is, that this is an injustice, the whole world has been watching Egypt and this case to see it's commitment to rule of law, to due process, to principles like freedom of speech and democracy, and so the president has an opportunity now to right this injustice, to overturn these convictions, to issue pardons for all concerned. We're going to be doing everything we can to get that." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) AL JAZEERA JOURNALIST, PETER GRESTE, SAYING: "She said that they, the government will pursue every diplomatic means that is has at it's disposal to try and get this conviction overturned. The government has been, and Julie Bishop in particular, have been both very, very supportive of the fight to overturn this and I expect that they'll continue to be supportive." WHITE FLASH
  • Embargoed: 13th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Australia
  • Country: Australia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA79VSRJWXOZCWW3D71Z6VCB4O9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Deported Australian journalist, Peter Greste says he is "devastated" by an Egyptian court's sentencing of himself and two other Al Jazeera journalists to prison for operating without a press license and broadcasting material harmful to Egypt.
    Greste, 49, who was convicted in absentia by a Cairo court on Saturday (August 29) and sentenced along with two Egyptian colleagues, said the decision was a major blow for Egyptian democracy and no evidence had been presented in court which would back it up.
    "The fact is that there was never any evidence presented in court to confirm these charges. Every single independent observer recognised that and said as much and so the only conclusion that we can possibly come to is this verdict was politically motivated, because there is no basis in the evidence,'' Greste told Reuters.
    ''Now, it's devastating enough for me and my career, it means I won't be able to travel to any country that has an extradition treaty with Egypt. It means that I'll carry a conviction as a terrorist. But, that's just an inconvenience compared to what my colleagues are having to go through. I know what the conditions are like in an Egyptian prison," he added.
    Greste described the work that led up to the three men's arrest in 2013 as "very mundane, routine journalism".
    He denied the court's finding that they had fabricated news or supported the now banned Muslim Brotherhood.
    "We weren't doing anything illegal, much less immoral, or unethical. We didn't broadcast propaganda, we didn't falsify news and again, the prosecutor never presented any evidence that we did falsify news, there was nothing there. And so, beyond the work of a good professional journalist, we had no inappropriate relationship with the Brotherhood whatsoever," Greste said.
    Judge Hassan Farid said the defendants, dubbed the "Marriott Cell" by local media because they worked out of a hotel belonging to that chain, "are not journalists and not members of the press syndicate" and broadcast with unlicensed equipment.
    Baher received an additional six months in prison. The state news agency MENA said that extra time was handed down because he was in possession of a bullet at the time of his arrest.
    The three men were originally sentenced to between seven and 10 years in prison on charges including spreading lies to help a terrorist organisation, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood which the military toppled from power two years ago.
    "Well, we were always concerned that the court might feel that it needed to give a conviction to save face in this, but we never, ever anticipated that there would be a custodial sentence like this. There is no basis in this, there's no reason. It's hard to understand how the court could have concluded that we're guilty of anything, much less deserving of prison sentences of three years and three and a half years, it's just devastating," Greste said.
    Greste said any journalist operating in Egypt would need to exercise considerable self-censorship.
    The Australian journalist, who was deported from Egypt in February this year after pressure from the Australian government, said he will continue to fight to clear his and his colleagues' names.
    "We're going to pursue every legal option that we have. The other guys in particular have the possibility of appealing to the court of cassations. I haven't spoken to them or their colleagues about that. I don't know quite what their plans are, we'll need a bit of time to digest this. We also have the option of going directly to the president to ask for a pardon,'' Greste said.
    ''The fact is, that this is an injustice, the whole world has been watching Egypt and this case to see it's commitment to rule of law, to due process, to principles like freedom of speech and democracy, and so the president has an opportunity now to right this injustice, to overturn these convictions, to issue pardons for all concerned. We're going to be doing everything we can to get that," he added.
    Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop spoke to Greste on Saturday evening.
    "She said that they, the government will pursue every diplomatic means that is has at it's disposal to try and get this conviction overturned. The government has been, and Julie Bishop in particular, have been both very, very supportive of the fight to overturn this and I expect that they'll continue to be supportive," said Greste.
    In a statement on Saturday, Bishop said she was "dismayed" by the verdict against Greste and would seek diplomatic means to get it overturned, describing it as a "distressing outcome."
    Human rights groups have accused Egyptian authorities of rolling back freedoms won in the 2011 popular uprising that toppled veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
    In June, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Egypt was holding at least 18 journalists behind bars, the highest number since record-keeping began in 1990. They were being held on the pretext of national security to crack down on media freedoms, it said.
    Egypt says it has launched a security crackdown in order to eradicate Islamist militant "terrorists" and deliver stability.
    Amnesty International called Saturday's verdict "farcical".
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