Home » World News » Al Jazeera journalists sentenced to three years by Egyptian court
 
SPEED NEWS

Al Jazeera journalists sentenced to three years by Egyptian court

News Agencies | Updated on: 13 February 2017, 4:00 IST

Three Al-Jazeera journalists convicted in Egypt of "spreading false news" have been sentenced to three years in prison at their retrial in Cairo.

Out of the three journalists, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were in court to hear the verdict. Australian Peter Greste was deported to Australia earlier this year and was on trial again in absentia.

The three journalists are accused of aiding the banned Muslim Brotherhood group but they strenuously deny the allegations.They originally sentenced in July 2014, with Mr Greste and Mr Fahmy receiving seven years and Mr Mohamed getting 10 years.

But their convictions were overturned in January this year and they were freed in February to await retrial

'A dark day for the Egyptian judiciary'

Giving the verdict on 29 August, the judge said the three men were not registered journalists and had been operating from a Cairo hotel without a licence. He handed three-year sentences to Greste and Fahmy but gave Mr Mohamed an additional six months.

Fahmy and Mohamed were led away after the verdict but it is unclear how long they will now serve. They were in prison for about a year before being freed.

Greste said in a tweet that he was "shocked" and "outraged" by the verdict, which he described as "so wrong".

In a statement, Al-Jazeera said it was "yet another deliberate attack on press freedom".

"It is a dark day for the Egyptian judiciary; rather than defend liberties and a free and fair media they have compromised their independence for political reasons," it added.

First published: 29 August 2015, 3:38 IST