Close X
Saturday, November 16, 2024
ADVT 
International

Appeals court in Egypt orders retrial in case of 3 jailed Al-Jazeera journalists

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Jan, 2015 11:00 AM

    CAIRO — An Egyptian appeals court ordered a retrial Thursday in the case of three Al-Jazeera English journalists held for over a year, overturning the ruling in a case that ensnared the reporters in a wider conflict between Egypt and Qatar.

    The decision by Egypt's Court of Cassation came after a hearing that lasted less than half an hour. However, Canadian-Egyptian Mohammed Fahmy, Australian journalist Peter Greste and Egyptian Baher Mohammed, who have been held since their arrest in December 2013, were not released on bail.

    The three journalists did not attend the brief hearing that began around 9 a.m. local time (0700 GMT, 2 a.m. EST) in Cairo. Reporters gathered to report on the hearing were not allowed in for those arguments, but later entered the court.

    Defence lawyers said they believed a retrial for the three men would be held within a month and that they hoped for speedy trial given a changing political climate between Egypt and Qatar — believed to be underpinning the whole case. The Al-Jazeera satellite news network is based in Qatar, a country which recently promised to ease tensions in the greater Middle East by dropping its support for Islamist groups throughout the region.

    Defence lawyers expressed relief over the retrial, though family members of those imprisoned said they hoped for their loved ones' immediate release. Legal experts said releasing the men was outside the power of the Court of Cassation.

    Lois Greste, Peter Greste's mother, said after the hearing that the verdict was "not as good as we hoped."

    Adel Fahmy, Mohammed Fahmy's brother, said he had hoped his brother would have been freed Thursday. He said each lawyer received three minutes to argue their stance on the case.

    "I hoped for more today," he said.

    Greste's lawyer, Amr El Deeb, hailed the ruling.

    "This is a very good and optimistic decision. It will give them a second round of mitigation," El Deeb said. "Hopefully when we go to the retrial, we can defend the defendants and present adequate support to try to set them free."

    Fahmy's lawyer, Negad al-Borai, said seven lawyers represented the three journalists and four other defendants who are Muslim Brotherhood members.

    Egyptian authorities offered no immediate comment on the ruling. The prosecutor who spoke at the hearing was not the prosecutor who initially tried the case, but rather one attached to the appeals court.

    Authorities accused Qatar-based Al-Jazeera of acting as a mouthpiece for the Brotherhood. The station has long denied the accusations and said the journalists were doing their job.

    "Baher, Peter and Mohammed have been unjustly in jail for over a year now," Al-Jazeera said in a statement after the court's decision. "The Egyptian authorities have a simple choice: free these men quickly or continue to string this out, all the while continuing this injustice and harming the image of their own country in the eyes of the world."

    Fahmy's brother told reporters the journalists "should not be caught in the middle of this remote conflict between two nations."

    "They are the only ones paying the prices," he said. "They are being punished on behalf of Qatar and Al-Jazeera."

    Fahmy and Greste were sentenced to seven years in prison at their initial trial, while Mohammed got 10 years — three more because he was found with a spent bullet casing. Rights groups dismissed the trial as a sham and foreign countries, including the U.S., expressed their concern over the journalists' detention.

    At trial, prosecutors offered no evidence backing accusations the three falsified footage to foment unrest. Instead, they showed edited news reports by the journalists, including Islamist protests and interviews with politicians. Other footage submitted as evidence had nothing to do with the case, including a report on a veterinary hospital and Greste's past reports out of Africa.

    Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also has the power to pardon or deport the foreigners under a new law, whether or not the court grants the appeal. That would allow Greste to go home and would allow Fahmy to go to Canada if he drops his Egyptian nationality. Mohammed's case would remain more uncertain as he holds only Egyptian citizenship.

    Fahmy moved to Canada with his family in 1991, living in Montreal and Vancouver for years before eventually moving abroad for work, which included covering stories for the New York Times and CNN.

    Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has said Canada has been working hard behind the scenes to secure Fahmy's release.

    Baird is set to travel to Egypt this month to push Fahmy's case. He has said he's met twice with his Egyptian counterpart in the last month, most recently in Bahrain, where he brought up the journalist's imprisonment. Baird has said he also met with Egypt's ambassador to Canada last month to discuss Fahmy's possible release.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    US to create world's largest marine reserve

    US to create world's largest marine reserve
    The US will create the world's largest marine reserve, stretching over about 1,270,000 sq km of the Pacific ocean, the White House press service said....

    US to create world's largest marine reserve

    U.S. asks Canada to step up in ISIL fight

    U.S. asks Canada to step up in ISIL fight
    NEW YORK - Canada is now weighing the possibility of an extended military role in the Middle East and will be making an announcement on the matter very soon, Prime Minister Stephen Harper indicated Wednesday.

    U.S. asks Canada to step up in ISIL fight

    In carnivore country, Uruguay's vegetarians promote their lifestyle

    In carnivore country, Uruguay's vegetarians promote their lifestyle
    Free snacks, monthly meetings for co-dependent carnivores and radio programmes are some of the initiatives vegetarians and vegans are undertaking...

    In carnivore country, Uruguay's vegetarians promote their lifestyle

    Scottish referendum opens Pandora's box in Britain

    Scottish referendum opens Pandora's box in Britain
    Things are very strange in Britain nowadays. People are talking politics. Pubs, supermarkets, hospitals, offices, everywhere people are more engaged in political debate than gossiping, thanks to the Scottish referendum. A record 85 percent of the electorate participated in the referendum to determine Scotland's independence.

    Scottish referendum opens Pandora's box in Britain

    Indian-origin cabbie to be tried for molestation in Australia

    Indian-origin cabbie to be tried for molestation in Australia
    A West Australian taxi driver, identified as Suni Kumar Saharan, 28, molested the woman, who is also 28 years old, after picking her up along with her four friends from Victoria Park in Perth Sep 7. ...

    Indian-origin cabbie to be tried for molestation in Australia

    Sikh woman of Indian origin in US blames her attorney for withholding truth

    Sikh woman of Indian origin in US blames her attorney for withholding truth
    A Sikh woman facing a trial for the murder of her husband's ex-wife in the US, recently left many stunned by accusing her own reputed attorney of stopping her from revealing...

    Sikh woman of Indian origin in US blames her attorney for withholding truth