In a shocking verdict, an Egyptian court found three Al-Jazeera journalists, including Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy, guilty on terrorism-related charges. There was little or no evidence against them and court spectators had expected them to be feed.
Instead they were sentenced to seven years in prison each. They have already been detained for five months, accused of aiding the Muslim Brotherhood, which the state has labelled a “terrorist organization.”
‘A dark day for media freedom,’ says Amnesty
Amnesty International described the trial a “sham,” and called the rulings “a dark day for media freedom in Egypt.”
Fahmy’s brother suggested the Canadian government should have done more to help secure his brother’s freedom and is urging Canadian officials to intervene. The Egyptian government has the power to commute the sentence or pardon the three, but only after they have exhausted any appeals. This could take months.
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.