Al-Jazeera vows not to ‘leave’ producer Baher Mohamed in Egyptian jail

Al-Jazeera vowed on Monday “not to leave” Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed in jail following the release of Australian journalist Peter Greste and amid rising hopes Canadian Mohamed Fahmy will soon be deported. All three were jailed on New Year’s Day in 2014, for allegedly aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood group. Greste, an award-winning reporter, was deported from Cairo on Sunday after 400 days in captivity and flew to Cyprus. And Canadian officials have said they are “very hopeful” that a deal can be struck for Fahmy “shortly”, with both reporters being deported under a decree passed by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that allows for the transfer of foreigners on trial.

We are very worried about him (Baher Mohamed) - I think it is not lost on anybody that there is an Egyptian national involved here.

Heather Allan, Al-Jazeera English

But there are concerns that no such escape route exists for Mohamed, an Egyptian, who until Sunday shared a cell with Greste in Cairo’s Tora prison. Heather Allan, head of newsgathering at Al-Jazeera English, said the pan-Arab television network would fight to free all three. Asked if Al-Jazeera was hopeful he may be released along with his colleagues, Allan said: “I can’t say I am confident, no. I just don’t know, honestly. Are we going to keep on fighting it? Absolutely - we are not going to leave him there. We might have to try some other tactics because we don’t have a foreign country involved, but our commitment to getting him out is just as strong as it ever was.”

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