Family beg Blair to help free BBC reporter held in Egyptian prison
THE family of the former BBC journalist whose imprisonment in Egypt has sparked global outrage made an impassioned plea last night to Tony Blair to use his relationship with the country’s dictator to secure the reporter’s release.
Australian Peter Greste, 49, was one of three journalists with broadcaster AlJazeera who were jailed for seven years for spreading ‘false news’ helpful to the opposition Muslim Brotherhood.
The Egyptian government, headed by the President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has ignored worldwide condemnation over the jailings. But last night, sources close to Mr Blair said he was working behind the scenes to secure the journalists’ release.
The news came after Mr Greste’s brother Andrew asked Mr Blair – who is advising President al-Sisi on the economy – to use his influence. ‘I would like to think that in any meetings Mr Blair has with al-Sisi he raises Peter’s case and does everything he can to help not just Peter and his colleagues but all journalists whose right to free speech has been compromised,’ Andrew told The Mail on Sunday.
Mr Greste’s father, Juris, added: ‘Let’s hope that with Blair’s involvement we can make some progress in the right direction.’
Human rights groups have criticised the convictions as a ‘witch-hunt’ to silence journalists in the crisis-ridden country. Mr Blair’s involvement with al-Sisi has proved highly controversial, with even the Labour-supporting Guardian saying: ‘Blair embodies corruption and war... now he’s advising the Egyptian dictatorship, his removal as Middle East peace envoy is a moral and democratic necessity.’ As The Mail on Sunday revealed earlier this year, Alastair Campbell, Mr Blair’s former spin chief, has been to Cairo to advise the Egyptian government on its public image.