Delegation meets Mehleb to press for AJE journalists’ release

A delegation from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) met with Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb on Thursday to plea for government intervention in the convictions against Al Jazeera staff members Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed, who are currently serving prison sentences on terrorism-related charges.

IFJ president Jim Boumela and the Australian Media and Entertainment and Arts Alliance Federal Secretary Christopher Warren, who represents Greste’s union, spearheaded the meeting.

In a statement issued following the talks, the IFJ delegation said it was “particularly grateful that the prime minister started a dialogue and understood the concern of the IFJ and its member unions about the imprisonment of our colleagues who worked for Al Jazeera, and the impact the sentence has on their families.”

However, Mehleb reportedly refused to intervene in the case at this time, as the men are awaiting an appeal against the convictions. He asserted that that the legal process should be allowed to reach a conclusion before other avenues are explored.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been called on to grant the imprisoned journalists a presidential pardon, but no such promises have been made by Sisi or his prime minister.

“The release of Peter and his colleagues would be a strong gesture to journalists and we urge the president to exercise his prerogative of mercy,” said Warren.

In June, Cairo courts sentenced the three men to seven to 10 years in prison for “aiding terrorist organizations” by spreading false news. Other Al Jazeera journalists were tried in absentia in the same case, and also received 10-year sentences. The verdict prompted international outcry regarding the freedom of the media in Egypt.

Award-winning Australian journalist Greste was the East Africa correspondent for Al Jazeera English and previously worked for the BBC, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy was the Al Jazeera English bureau chief and had previously worked for CNN, while Baher Mohamed was a local producer for the Qatar-based satellite channel.

Greste and Fahmy were arrested on December 29, 2014 in a police raid on their Marriott Hotel room, while Mohamed was arrested in his home that same evening.

During the trial, the defense team decried prosecutorial evidence that appeared to have little to no bearing on the charges.  

The prosecution admitted evidence that was confiscated from the defendants in the Marriott raid, including footage of a program about horse welfare produced by Sky News Arabia, a BBC documentary on Somalia, raw footage of a press conference in Kenya and a song by Gotye, a popular Australian singer-songwriter.

Less than a week after the guilty verdict, Fahmy donated LE15,000 to the Tahya Masr (Long Live Egypt) fundraising drive that Sisi initiated in June to bolster the Egyptian economy.

Fahmy said that he instructed his family to donate an amount of money on his behalf to help Egypt during these difficult times.

“Every Egyptian who loves his country should contribute and help out," Fahmy said. "This is the maximum I can do from behind bars."