The government of Egypt has sentenced three Al-Jazeera journalists charged with, “spreading false news” to three years behind bars after they were retried in Cairo, the country’s capital on Saturday, August 29, 2015.
The three journalists were Canadian-Eygptian Mohamed Fahmy, Egyptian Baher Mohamed and Australian Peter Greste.
According to the BBC, both the former were led away after their trial in Egypt, while only Greste was again tried in absentia after his deportation to his home country earlier in the year.
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It seems journalists are objects of ridicule all over the world. During President Muhammadu Buhari’s earlier visit to USA, journalists based there expressed their displeasure over their negligence by the Nigeria’s president.
The charge leveled against the trio was supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group. However, they vehemently pleaded not guilty.
The three men were initially sentenced on July 2014 with a jail term of seven and 10 years for Greste and Fahmy respectively.
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In January 2015, their convictions were voided. They were released for retrial in February. However during the verdict on Saturday, August 29, Judge Hassan stated that the three journalists were not licensed reporters. He said they were practicing from a hotel in Cairo without being registered.
The judge sentenced Greste and Fahmy for three years, but gave Baher additional six months. The jail length of Fahmy and Baher is still not ascertained, because they had been in prison for a year before they gained freedom.
The lawyers for the three men are expected to file an appeal soon.
The post Egypt Shows No Mercy As Al Jazeera Journalists Bag Jail Sentence appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM.
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