“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. It is still unclear if Greste is included in the pardon.
At that original hearing, another six Al Jazeera journalists were tried in absentia on the same charges and were sentenced to 10 years’ jail.
The journalists denied the allegation and said they were simply reporting the news.
Fahmy was sentenced to three years in prison last month for airing what a court described as “false news” and biased coverage.
Yet, Egypt denies that it is targeting journalists due to their work.
“I try in my journey as a journalist not to obsessively take on the role of an agent of democratic change usually embraced by many members of our prestigious fourth estate. These pardons will be little more than an empty gesture if they are not followed up by further releases of those arbitrarily detained, respect for the right to freedom of expression and assembly, and accountability for perpetrators of gross human rights violations”.
Mohamed Fahmy is filled with ideas for his future as a free man.
Mohamed said, “We’re very, very happy”.
When in Canada, Mr. Fahmy plans to take at least one year before returning to journalism and will continue writing a book on his ordeal in Egypt, a case that he says has much more context that needs to be told.
Authorities arrested Fahmy, Greste and Mohammed, later charging them with allegedly being part of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which authorities have declared a terrorist organization, and airing falsified footage meant to damage national security. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull spoke to him and vowed to press Egypt for a pardon for him and his colleagues, according to Turnbull’s Facebook page.
An award-winning former BBC reporter, Greste said in an interview with Al-Jazeera that he was “overjoyed” by their release.
Fahmy, who renounced his Egyptian citizenship to qualify for deportation in February, was expected to leave for Canada following his release.
They were convicted in a trial that observers called a sham and sentenced to years in prison.
The 41-year-old’s troubles began in December 2013 when he was working as the Cairo bureau chief for Qatar-based satellite news broadcaster Al Jazeera English.
After being bundled into a police vehicle, Fahmy said he and his colleague were dropped outside a school in a south Cairo neighbourhood and bid goodbye. For Fahmy, his wife and family, no doubt the sooner that happens, the better.