Prosecution addresses court in Al Jazeera journalists trial

The high-profile trial of three Al Jazeera journalists on terrorism-related charges was adjourned today until June 16.

Baher Mohamed, Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy have been in custody since December 2013 and are standing trial alongside 14 other defendants.

In today's session the prosecution addressed the court. The prosecutor alleged that Al Jazeera English used reports of sexual harassment during the June 30, 2013 protests to portray protesters in a bad light, BBC journalist Clare Read tweeted.

Read, who attended the trial, tweeted that the defense in its pleadings cited a national security officer investigating the case as saying that "we know they are terrorists [because they] work for Al Jazeera." Referring to news report videos made by the defendants and shown to the court as evidence against them defense lawyer Khaled Abu Bakr said "this is a journalistic report you can watch on any channel," Read tweeted.

During the court session journalists reported that Fahmy shouted "we are hostages" from the cage in which defendants are held during trial sessions.

The Guardian's correspondent in Egypt, Patrick Kingsley, quoted Abu Bakr as telling the court that former diplomat Amr Moussa and business tycoon Naguib Sawiris have signed letters confirming Fahmy's integrity. 

"Nothing in the investigation proves the accusation that [Fahmy] is a threat to national security … every journalist will have the kinds of material [he] had on him," Kingsley quotes Abu Bakr as saying.

The defense also told the court that filming someone saying "down with the president" does not signal agreement with that sentiment, Kingsley tweeted.

It is anticipated that the June 16 session will be the trial's penultimate, and that a verdict will be handed down thereafter.