Al-Jazeera journalists sentenced to three years in prison after lengthy trial

Three Al-Jazeera journalists have been sentenced to three years in jail by judges at a court in Egypt. Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohammed and Peter Greste, were sentenced at a retrial for “spreading false news” and other offences. Fahmy, a Canadian, and Mohammed, an Egyptian, were in court, but Greste, an Australian, has been deported to Australia. Immediately after the ruling, Fahmy’s wife, Marwa, began crying. Others sobbed loudly.

Shocked. Outraged. Angry. Upset. None of them convey how I feel right now.

Peter Greste’s tweet following the verdict

Judge Hassan Farid said he jailed the three in part because they weren’t registered with the country’s journalist syndicate. He explained that the journalists brought equipment without the approval of security officials into Egypt. The three also spread “false news” and used a hotel as a broadcasting point without permission, the judge added. It wasn’t immediately clear how the sentence would affect the three men. Greste, earlier deported in February, spoke to Al-Jazeera from Sydney and said he believed an Egyptian appeals court would overturn the verdict. Fahmy and Mohammed, both on hand for Saturday’s hearing, were immediately taken away by police after the hearing.

The verdict today sends a very dangerous message in Egypt It sends a message that journalists can be locked up for simply doing their job, for telling the truth and reporting the news. And it sends a dangerous message that there are judges in Egypt who will allow their courts to become instruments of political repression and propaganda.

Amal Clooney, human rights lawyer who represented Fahmy

World Al-Jazeera