- Title: EGYPT-JAZEERA/SENTENCE UPDATE Al Jazeera journalists speaking before verdict
- Date: 29th August 2015
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (AUGUST 29, 2015) (REUTERS) MOHAMED FAHMY SEATED NEXT TO HIS WIFE MARWA OMAR AND HIS LAWYER AMAL CLOONEY (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOURNALIST AND DEFENDANT, MOHAMED FAHMY, SAYING: "We hope that today's outcome is positive as I said and if it's not, we know you're out here fighting for us until justice prevails, thank you." VARIOUS OF FAHMY GREETING HIS WIFE AND LAWYER AND LEAVING PEOPLE SEATED AT COURT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JOURNALIST AND DEFENDANT, BAHER MOHAMED, SAYING: "This matter is about press freedom, not just the three of us, it's about press freedom and every journalist detained. I just want to remind you of our colleague Shawkan, as well as Fakharany and Samahy and Mohamed Adli and Jason and many others everywhere - there are still journalists locked up. Let's not forget them." PEOPLE SEATED INSIDE COURTROOM LAWYER AMAL CLOONEY JUDGE HASSAN FARID READING THE VERDICT (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO CAIRO, JOHN CASSON, SAYING: "The question that is posed today is: is that stability going to be a fragile, temporary stability, that is built on the shaky foundation which deprives people of their rights and undermines the freedom of the press and freedom of expression? Or will it be a strong and enduring stability built on protecting the rights that are present in the Egyptian constitution and applying the rule of law without any political agendas and without any discrimination to every individual?" PEOPLE SEATED INSIDE COURTROOM
- Embargoed: 13th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Egypt
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAESCIU4LYJ47UBVAOFRHV5CFWK
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: An Egyptian court sentenced three Al Jazeera TV journalists to three years in prison on Saturday (August 29) for operating without a press licence and broadcasting material harmful to Egypt, a case that has stirred an international outcry.
The verdict in a retrial was issued against Mohamed Fahmy, a naturalised Canadian who has given up his Egyptian citizenship, Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian, and Peter Greste, an Australian who was deported in February.
Before the trial, Fahmy told reporters:
"We hope that today's outcome is positive as I said and if it's not, we know you're out here fighting for us until justice prevails, thank you."
Rights advocates say their arrest was part of a crackdown on free speech since the army overthrew President Mohamed Mursi, a senior Muslim Brotherhood figure, in July 2013 following mass unrest over his rule.
Judge Hassan Farid said the defendants, dubbed the "Marriott Cell" by the local press 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.
Before the start of the trial, Baher said:
"This matter is about press freedom, not just the three of us, it's about press freedom and every journalist detained. I just want to remind you of our colleague Shawkan, as well as Fakharany and Samahy and Mohamed Adli and Jason and many others everywhere - there are still journalists locked up. Let's not forget them."
The three men were originally sentenced to between seven to 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.
The three defendants denied all charges, calling them absurd. Three other Egyptians, all students, also received three-year sentences for the same charges.
After the verdict was handed down, British ambassador to Cairo, John Casson, said:
"The question that is posed today is: is that stability going to be a fragile, temporary stability that is built on the shaky foundation which deprives people of their rights and undermines the freedom of the press and freedom of expression or will it be a strong and enduring stability built on protecting the rights that are present in the Egyptian constitution and applying the rule of law without any political agendas and without any discrimination to every individual."
Speaking on Al Jazeera in reaction to Saturday's verdict, Greste said he was shocked at the scale of the sentence. "Words really don't do justice," he said. "To be given three-year sentences is outrageous. It is just devastating for me."
Fahmy and Mohamed, who had been released on bail in February after over a year in jail, were taken back into custody after the verdict, according to Fahmy's wife Marwa Omara, who wept after the sentences were read out. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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