Alongside Australian Journalist Peter Greste, Canadian Fahmy and Egyptian Mohamed were arrested in Cairo while working for the Qatari network Al Jazeera English in December 2013. It is still unclear if Greste is included in the pardon. He is in talks to take on the fellowship in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia, which he had placed on hold when he was sent back to prison. And the most important victory usually for me was being able to smuggle out my statements or letters to families or the media. I did not criticize them because I was inside the prison, but my family was outspoken about their mild approach. He is also writing a book about his experiences. “While we welcome the presidential pardon of the Al-Jazeera journalists on Wednesday, the reality remains that journalists are being arrested, harassed, and threatened in relation to their work at unprecedented levels in Egypt”, CPJ said.
The organization said the pardons, made ahead of the Muslim Eid holiday, should be followed by further action to seriously address the appalling human rights record under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, including the intolerance of peaceful dissent and criticism of the authorities. “I have so many thank yous I want to give to people in Canada”.
While Mr. Fahmy said he is grateful for support he received from opposition parties in Canada and for the efforts of Ambassador Troy Lulashnyk in Cairo, he has criticized Ottawa’s slow response and initial lack of support, including not pressing for Mr. Fahmy to receive medical care in prison for an injured shoulder that has resulted in a permanent injury.
Yet whether he was accepting worldwide awards for his investigative reporting or shedding light on a political maelstrom by voicing his more personal struggles, the 41-year-old has remained staunchly committed to what he views as the bedrock of his chosen field.
Human rights and press freedom groups, among others, led global condemnation of the sentences as products of sham trials meant to hurt Al-Jazeera’s owner, the government of Qatar, widely seen as a past supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.
He said there is no way to tell how long it will take to get his name off the no-fly list, but he hopes to leave Egypt in about a week. “Marwa is ready to go”.
June 24, 2014: El-Sissi rejects calls from the United States and other Western governments that he pardon or commute the sentences of the three journalists.
Their convictions at retrial on 29 August were described as an “outrage” and an embarrassment for President Sisi by Amal Clooney, one of Fahmy’s lawyers.