Egyptian-Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy is calling on Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to personally ask the president of Egypt to release him from prison there. His interview with the public broadcaster CBC marks the first time Faj,u has spoken about his conviction and his view that Canada could do more to secure his release.
Fahmy was arrested along with two of his Al-Jazeera colleagues while they were covering a demonstration in Cairo last December. They were convicted in what Amnesty International calls a sham trial, and were sentenced to seven years for undermining Egypt’s security and supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. An appeal is scheduled for Jan 1.
Minister says ‘public hectoring would be counter-productive’
Fahmy praised Canadian embassy staff in Egypt for their efforts on his behalf, but told CBC, that now he needs intervention at the highest level.
He says he has so far “received no satisfactory answer” from the prime minister’s office. Canada’s foreign minister has said public hectoring of Egyptian officials would be counter-productive.
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