Australian FM: Peter Greste’s trial will have ramifications on Egypt-Australia relations

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop stated on Tuesday that she has spoken with her Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, to make clear that the trial of Australian Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste will negatively impact the relationship between the two states.

In an interview aired on the Australian ABC’s Foreign Correspondent series, the Bishop told Greste that she had informed Shoukry that the trial would have "ramifications for the relationship [between both countries] and for Egypt’s reputation in general.”

"We have continued to make representations to the Egyptian authorities that your (re)trial should not have gone ahead and that if they insist on trialing you in absentia then you should have the opportunity to give your side of the story," the foreign minister told Greste.

According to ABC’s news website, the journalist has offered to submit evidence on a video link, but was rejected by Egyptian authorities.

The statement comes shortly after the retrial of the Al Jazeera journalists was adjourned to August 29. Greste was the first of the detained journalists to be released from prison, and was deported following a decree allowing the deportation of foreign nationals charged or detained in Egypt.

Canadian Minister of State Lynne Yelich also recently called upon the Egyptian government to facilitate Greste’s Egyptian-Canadian colleague Mohamed Fahmy's return to Canada. "We ask that all branches of the Egyptian government work in a concerted manner to address the situation of Mr. Fahmy," the minister said in a statement last week. In a less harsh tone than the one used by Bishop, Lynne called upon the Egyptian government to keep "with the spirit of Egypt’s new constitution and its transition to democracy."

Fahmy renounced his Egyptian citizenship in February in a bid to follow Greste and secure his release and deportation. The Canadian government had initially refused to issue Fahmy a new passport, a decision it then retracted in April. The journalist's original travel document was allegedly confiscated upon his arrest in December 2013.

Fahmy has attacked Canada for not doing enough to secure his release, telling UK-based newspaper The Independent that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper did not intervene decisively enough during his 400-day imprisonment.