Peter Greste’s family say they have no information that the jailed Australian journalist will be imminently freed from prison and deported from Egypt.
Rumours began early on Sunday Australia time that a presidential decree had been hastily issued in Cairo, ordering him released from prison on Sunday and deported from the country.
But Greste’s brother Andrew tweeted: “I would welcome the news that @PeterGreste will be deported tomorrow. As yet I have no official confirmation. Rumous, rumours, rumours.”
“Until @PeterGreste butt is on a 747 outside of Egyptian airspace the campaign to free him continues. We’ve been let down before.”
There has been no confirmation from the Egyptian or Australian governments.
Peter Greste’s other brother, Mike, is in Egypt and in regular contact with consular officials in Cairo.
Speaking last week to mark 400 days since her son was imprisoned, Greste’s mother, Lois, said speculation he would soon be released was emotionally draining for him.
“There’s lots of rumours that go round in the prison as well … some of the news bites that he does manage to hear, and it can’t help but build up his hopes [of being released].
“Some of the rumours have been saying, ‘I hear you’re going tomorrow,’ and of course tomorrow comes and nothing happens.
“So he’s decided really that until the authorities tell him to ‘pack your bags, you’re out’, he won’t believe it.”
Greste, a journalist with the al-Jazeera network, was originally sentenced to seven years in jail, alongside his colleagues Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, who were sentenced to seven and 10 years’ jail respectively, accused of reporting that was “damaging to national security”, and for “spreading lies to aid a terrorist group”.
But their trial was widely condemned as a farce, marred by irrelevant evidence and irregularities of process, including evidence presented while defence lawyers were absent.
Last month Egypt’s court of cassation ordered a retrial for the trio. But Greste’s family and lawyers have applied for the invocation of a new presidential power that allows President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to order foreign prisoners be deported to their home country in cases where that would serve the interests of Egypt.
Andrew Greste told the ABC his family and lawyers were waiting for any news on his brother’s legal situation.
“As we’ve learned in this whole episode, we’re in unchartered waters, a lot of these things are unknown … we hope he does receive a pardon, then it could be at very short notice, a matter of hours, and then he’s on his way,” he said.
“We welcome any form of his release, a pardon or a deportation, we just want to get him back home.”
He said his brother was coping with being imprisoned, and with the uncertainty over his future, “as well as can be expected”.
“It’s been a tough 400 days.”
