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Egypt must drop charges against Al Jazeera journalists, says ARTICLE 19

July 27, 2015 at 9:05 am

The retrial of three Al Jazeera journalists must be discontinued and charges against them dropped unconditionally, says ARTICLE 19, an organisation which campaigns for freedom of expression. The group also called for the release of all detained journalists in Egypt.


Baher Mohamed, Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste face a verdict on 30 July in their retrial for “spreading false news”, and “aiding and abetting terrorism”.

Baher and Mohamed were imprisoned for 411 days. They are currently on bail pending the outcome of the retrial, ordered after their initial convictions were ruled unsafe by Egypt’s highest court.

The third Al Jazeera journalist, Peter Greste, was also jailed for 400 days following the initial trial before being deported. He remains on trial in absentia, even though he is unable to defend himself.

ARTICLE 19’s Executive Director, Thomas Hughes comments: “Baher Mohamed, Mohamed Fahmy, and Peter Greste should not be on trial at all: journalism is not a crime. These charges must be dropped, and they must be free from threat of imprisonment.

“These cases are part of a wider crackdown on the exercise of human rights in Egypt: the space for dissent is shrinking. The threat of imprisonment is just one repressive tool of many to shut down legitimate debate. It not only poses a threat to the safety and freedom of journalists, but leads to self-censorship.”

Eighteen journalists are believed to be behind bars in Egypt, and many more are facing trial.

The imprisonment of journalists is characteristic of the new media environment in the country: entire media outlets, including Al-Jazeera and Anadolu, a Turkish news agency, have been banned or forced to close their offices.

New laws affecting freedom of expression awaiting approval by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi look set to further erode the rights and activities of bloggers and journalists.