Local press reserved about Al Jazeera verdict

While international press was outraged by yesterday’s verdict for Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed, local Egyptian press took up a more reserved position, condemning the international criticism.

The state-owned Al-Ahram, an official regime mouthpiece, ran a small headline on its front page, reading, “Prison sentences from seven to 10 years for 18 defendants.” The headline is more of a side bar to the main story reported by the newspaper, which is entitled “Redistribution of budget resources to achieve social justice.” The Al Jazeera headline is immediately followed by another one reading, “Egypt refuses foreign interference in the rulings of the judiciary.”

In the story, Al-Ahram called the case “one of the most controversial lawsuits.” The longer story refers to Egypt’s rejection of international criticism of the verdict, deeming it an interventionist attitude in a sovereign matter. The newspaper referred to the Foreign Ministry statement condemning the criticism Egypt received, while also reporting that Foreign Minister Sameh Shokry requested that all Egyptian embassies explain the details of the case to the foreign ministries of the countries where they are serving.

Similar content is published by the privately-owned Al-Masry Al-Youm, which has used the same rhetoric circulating in most local media regarding the case, including dubbing it “the Mariott Cell” case (A reference to the fact that some of the defendants were arrested at the Marriott hotel). After presenting the series of statements issued by a number of world leaders yesterday, particularly from countries such as Australia, the Netherlands and the UK, Al-Masry Al-Youm presented the court’s narrative on the case, stating that “the prosecution confirmed that the court issued deterring sentences.” The newspaper also cited Abdallah Fathy, the deputy of the Judges Club, as saying that he refuses any commentary on a judicial decision, adding that he will call for a meeting urgently to issue a statement in response to the international outcry on the verdicts.

Al-Shorouk, another privately-owned newspaper, runs a headline that reads “strong verdicts for the Brothers”, followed by the news about the prison sentences handed down to the “Mariott Cell” defendants.

Television showed no more sympathy for the verdicts. A sample of the coverage was presented by Ahmad Moussa, who has a show on the privately-owned channel Sada al-Balad. Moussa said that the Al Jazeera’s defendants have nothing to do with media because they worked with the Brotherhood in inciting violence in Egypt through “the sewage channel” that is Al Jazeera.

TV host Amr Adeeb mocked US Secretary of State John Kerry for expressing concerns over the verdict, adding that he wonders whether Kerry wanted Egypt to release the journalists and to be credited for the mediation.

Renowned journalist and TV host, Ibrahim Eissa, himself once sentenced to prison for publishing false news, also denounced the international criticism of Egypt. Eissa maintained that none of the defendants in the Al Jazeera case are journalists simply because they are not members of the Syndicate of Journalists and because they don't work for local organizations. Eissa added that all defendants in the case are members of the Muslim Brotherhood and that Egypt is a victim of an international media conspiracy. Eissa was sentenced to jail during the Hosni Mubarak era and accused of publishing false news about his health, but was later pardoned by the president.