Egypt sentences al-Jazeera trio to at least seven years' jail

Mohammed Fahmy, Canadian-Egyptian acting bureau chief of Al-Jazeera, appears in a defendant's cage along with several other defendants during their trial on terror charges at a courtroom in Cairo

Three al-Jazeera journalists accused of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood have been jailed for seven years in Egypt. A court in Cairo convicted Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed of spreading false news and supporting the now banned Islamist group. The trio had denied the charges. Eleven defendants tried in absentia, including three foreign journalists, received 10-year sentences.

 

The trial has caused an international outcry amid claims it was politicized. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters on Monday she was "bitterly disappointed" by the outcome. Greste is an Australian citizen. British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "completely appalled" and the UK Foreign Office has summoned the Egyptian ambassador over the guilty verdicts. Two of the journalists convicted in absentia are British.

There was no physical evidence to support the charges.  Correspondents concur that nothing put forward earlier in court warranted the serious charges brought. The judge was shown photographs from Mr Greste's family holiday, a Sky Arabia report on cruelty to horses and a video of a news conference in Nairobi.  Baher Mohamed was sentenced to a further three years in jail on a separate charge involving possession of "unlicensed ammunition".

Peter Greste has spent six months in a 4m (13ft) cell with his two al-Jazeera colleagues, locked down for 23 hours a day with only a small window for light. The Tora prison is a "hell hole" says Greste's brother, Michael. "But he is strong and he will survive." That resilience was on show when the prisoners came into court. They waved at friends and family and hugged each other, hoping their ordeal was now ending.

The judge, wearing sunglasses, looked unmoved by the scores of cameras there to record the verdict. Last week he sentenced 14 people to death, including the father of one of the students standing in the cage.

As he heard the verdict, Peter Greste punched the cage in frustration. Mohamed Fahmy screamed in defiance.

 "He needs surgery, he has done nothing wrong," his mother wailed. Fahmy spent the first few weeks of his detention sleeping on the floor with a dislocated shoulder.  Now the nerves in the arm are permanently damaged.

In a statement, al-Jazeera's English managing director Al Anstey said the sentence "defies logic, sense, and any semblance of justice". The three men are expected to appeal.

Al-Jazeera has said only nine of the 20 defendants are its employees. The others are reportedly students and activists, two of whom were acquitted in Monday's verdict. The trial occurs amid concerns over growing media restrictions in Egypt.