Al-Jazeera will not leave its journalist in Egyptian jail

Al-Jazeera yesterday vowed “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.

Greste was deported from Cairo on Sunday after 400 days in captivity and flown to Cyprus. Canadian officials have said they are “very hopeful” that a deal can be struck for Fahmy “shortly”.

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 network would fight to free all three. “We are very worried about him,” admitted Allan. “I think it is not lost on anybody that there is an Egyptian national involved here.”

She said Mohamed “must be feeling pretty isolated at the moment,” adding that Al-Jazeera was in constant contact with the producer’s family.

“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.”