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Peter Greste trial: Tony Abbott must do more to secure release, says Labor Peter Greste trial: Tony Abbott must do more to secure release, says Labor
(35 minutes later)
The prime minister, Tony Abbott, must call for the release of Australian journalist Peter Greste from an Egyptian prison, the federal opposition has said. The Labor opposition has called on Tony Abbott to demand the release of the Australian journalist Peter Greste from Egyptian custody.
The al-Jazeera English reporter and two of his colleagues, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, have been behind bars since December. The prime minister has previously resisted calls to speak out strongly on the case, arguing he did not want to risk making the situation worse.
They have been accused of broadcasting false information to damage Egypt and supporting the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood of the deposed president Mohamed Morsi. Greste remains in custody following a third appearance in an Egyptian court on Monday. He and fellow al-Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed are accused of smearing Egypt's reputation, doctoring footage and aiding terrorists. Greste said he had been detained for three months without seeing “a single shred of evidence”.
Greste and his employer deny the allegations. The deputy opposition leader and foreign affairs spokeswoman, Tanya Plibersek, said journalists should not be put on trial or locked up for doing their job.
The trial has been adjourned to 31 March. Plibersek acknowledged “the significant efforts of the Australian diplomats” who were working hard on the matter, but called on the prime minister to add his voice to calls for Greste’s release.
The deputy opposition leader, Tanya Plibersek, said Abbott must call for Greste's release. “It’s time for Prime Minister Abbott to call for the release of Australian journalist Peter Greste from prison in Egypt,” Plibersek said.
"Being a journalist is not a crime," she said on Tuesday. "A free press is critically important. Journalists shouldn't be put on trial or locked up for doing their job." “The Labor opposition stands ready to assist the Abbott government to do everything it sensibly can to secure Peter’s release. Prime Minister Abbott has made much of his support for free speech. If Mr Abbott really does support free speech, he must do more for Peter Greste.”
She said Labor stood ready to assist the government to do everything it sensibly can to secure Greste's release. Abbott said last month that he supported a free media at home and abroad, and that the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, had made “appropriate representations” of Greste's behalf.
"Prime minister Abbott has made much of his support for free speech. If Mr Abbott really does support free speech, he must do more for Peter Greste," Plibersek said. But the prime minister said he did not want “to make a difficult situation worse” by commenting on particular court cases involving Australians overseas.
He offered a general comment last month that “detaining journalists who are going about their ordinary business is not conducive to the kind of free media that in the end is in the long-run best interests of everyone”.