It appears that Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy will be not freed from an Egyptian jail anytime soon.
Last month, Mr. Fahmy and Australian correspondent Peter Greste received seven-year sentences and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed received 10 years on terror-related charges.
All three were working for Al-Jazeera English in Cairo when they were arrested last December for possession of a spent bullet casing, apparently collected from a protest.
The case escalated into a political confrontation between Egypt’s new anti-Muslim Brotherhood administration and the Gulf kingdom of Qatar, the owner of Al Jazeera and a backer of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The journalists’ convictions have been criticised internationally by free-speech groups and media advocates. They argued that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi should use his powers to release the journalists.
However, Mr. Fahmy’s name was not on a list of presidential pardons issued Sunday to mark the end of Ramadan.
The journalists repeatedly denied all the allegations against them and contended they were just doing their jobs.
Evidence presented at the trial was often bizarre. It included several wildly irrelevant video clips, including a pop video, footage of livestock and a press conference in Kenya.
Last week, a month after the trial, the judge released a statement of the reasons for the guilty verdicts.
“The devil encouraged them to use journalism and direct it toward actions against this nation,” he wrote.
Earlier this month, Mr. Fahmy, was admitted to an Egyptian hospital for surgery on an arm he fractured shortly before being arrested.
Canada’s foreign affairs department is being criticised for not doing more to secure Mr. Fahmy’s release.
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