Two of the three al-Jazeera English journalists jailed in Egypt have formally applied to be deported, after an appeal ruled against them being released on bail, and instead sent their case to retrial.
Australian Peter Greste and Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy have asked Egypt’s chief prosecutor to send them home, making use of a presidential decree enacted in November that allows foreign defendants to be tried in their home countries instead of Egypt. Their third jailed colleague, Egyptian national Baher Mohamed, is unable to be considered under the decree.
Speaking to the Guardian after Thursday’s appeal hearing, Greste’s father, Juris, said: “We believe it [deportation] is our best option. It’s not to say that we don’t trust the [Egyptian judicial process] but we believe it is our best option of achieving Peter’s freedom sooner rather than later.”
Greste had been in Egypt for a fortnight when he was arrested in late December 2013 along with his two colleagues, as well as several students accused of aiding them in a terrorist plot. They were convicted in June 2014 of aiding terrorists, belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, spreading false information, and undermining Egyptian national security.
Outside Egypt, observers saw the case as a politicised attack on freedom of expression that ignored due process, and formed just one part of a widespread crackdown on all forms of opposition in Egypt. But within the country, where the coverage of AJE’s Arabic sister channels has strongly favoured the Muslim Brotherhood, many government supporters saw the journalists as a legitimate target.
With no foreign passport, Mohamed’s only remaining hopes of freedom are in the retrial, with foreign observers expressing hopes that it would be fairer than the first trial.
