Egypt sentences Al-Jazeera journalists to 3 years in prison

  CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced three Al-Jazeera English journalists to three years in prison. It wasn’t immediately clear how the sentence would affect Canadian national Mohammed Fahmy, Australian journalist Peter Greste and Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed. 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. Mostefa Souag, Al-Jazeera English acting director-general, criticized the verdict. Judge Hassan Farid, in his ruling, said he sentenced the men to prison because they had not registered with the country’s journalist syndicate. He also said the men brought in equipment without security officials’ approval, had broadcast “false news” on Al-Jazeera and used a hotel as a broadcasting point without permission. Immediately after the ruling, Fahmy’s wife, Marwa, began crying. Others loudly sobbed. The case began in December 2013, when Egyptian security forces raided the upscale hotel suite used by Al-Jazeera at the time to report from Egypt. Authorities arrested Fahmy, Greste and Mohammed, later charging them with allegedly being part of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which authorities have declared a terrorist organization, and airing falsified footage intended to damage national security. Al-Jazeera and the journalists have denied the allegations, saying they were simply reporting the news. At trial, prosecutors used news clips about an animal hospital with donkeys and horses, and another about Christian life in Egypt, as evidence they broke the law. Defense lawyers — and even the judge — dismissed the videos as irrelevant. Nonetheless, the three men were convicted on June 23, 2014, with Greste and Fahmy sentenced to seven years in prison and Mohammed to 10 years for being found with a spent bullet casing. On Saturday, Mohammed received an additional six months for being in possession of a “bullet,” according to the full text of the court decision carried by the Egyptian state news agency MENA. It wasn’t immediately clear why Saturday’s verdict referred to a “bullet,” rather than a spent bullet casing. Egypt deported Greste in February, though he remained charged in the case. Fahmy and Mohammed were later released on bail. Fahmy was asked to give up his Egyptian nationality by Egyptian officials in order to qualify for deportation. It’s not clear why he wasn’t deported, though Fahmy said he thinks Canada could have pressed Cairo harder on the matter. Angered by Al-Jazeera handling of the case, Fahmy has filed a lawsuit in Canada seeking $100 million from the broadcaster, saying that it put the story ahead of employee safety and used its Arabic-language channels to advocate for the Brotherhood. Al-Jazeera has said Fahmy should seek compensation from Egypt. — AP