Retrial ordered for Canadian, two others
CAIRO — An Egyptian appeals court on Thursday ordered the retrial of three Al-Jazeera English journalists — including Canadian Mohamed Fahmy — held for more than a year on terrorism-related charges, a ruling their lawyers hoped would help resolve a case that brought a storm of international criticism on Egypt’s government.
The three will remain behind bars at least until the new trial begins. But their lawyers expressed cautious optimism that a quick retrial will lead to their eventual exoneration.
Thursday’s ruling by the Court of Cassation, rights advocates said, exposed the highly politicized nature of their initial conviction and heavy sentences of up to 10 years in prison in a trial that they dismissed as a sham with no evidence.
Fahmy, who also holds Egyptian citizenship, and Australian Peter Greste and Egyptian Baher Mohamed argued they were targeted because of the Egyptian government’s political fight with Qatar, the Gulf country that finances the Al-Jazeera news network.
The two countries have been at odds over Qatar’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egyptian authorities have cracked down on ferociously since the July 2013 military ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.
Hopes have been raised that Egypt’s government now intends to free the men because of a recent public reconciliation between Egypt and Qatar. A date for the new trial was not immediately set.
Minister of State for Consular Affairs Lynne Yelich hailed the move to a retrial. “We welcome this decision and anticipate the new judicial process involving Mr. Fahmy to be conducted in a fair, transparent, and expedited manner,” her office said.
Fahmy’s brother Sherif said the family had expected a retrial would be granted, but were disappointed he was not released on bail until the new proceedings begin.
Under a recently passed law, Egypt President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has the power to deport the foreigners during their trial. That would allow Greste to go home and would allow Fahmy to go to Canada if he drops his Egyptian nationality.
Sherif Fahmy said the family had already submitted such a request and is hoping Fahmy will be allowed to leave Egypt with Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, who travels to the country in the coming weeks to push the journalist’s case.
Baird has said he’s met twice with his Egyptian counterpart in the last month, most recently in Bahrain, where he brought up the journalist’s imprisonment.