This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/24/world/middleeast/egyptian-court-convicts-3-journalists.html

The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 6 Version 7
Egyptian Court Convicts 3 Al Jazeera Journalists Egypt Convicts 3 Journalists; U.S. Is Critical
(about 9 hours later)
CAIRO — A judge on Monday convicted three journalists of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood to broadcast false reports of civil strife in Egypt. CAIRO — Secretary of State John Kerry came to Egypt this weekend to renew its “important partnership” with Washington and to offer its new president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, assurance of the swift restoration of military aid.
Two of the journalists were sentenced to seven years in prison, and the third was given 10 years, the three additional years apparently for his possession of a single spent bullet. The case has drawn condemnation from international rights groups and Western governments because there was no publicly available evidence that the journalists had either supported the Brotherhood or broadcast anything inaccurate. Less than 24 hours after Mr. Kerry’s visit, a judge on Monday convicted three journalists from Al Jazeera’s English-language network of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood to broadcast false reports. The judge sentenced each one to at least seven years in prison — all without making public any evidence and without a word from Mr. Sisi.
In a potentially embarrassing turn for the Obama administration, the verdict came a day after Secretary of State John Kerry visited Cairo in a show of renewed partnership with the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former general who led the military takeover here last summer. Declaring that the Egyptian president “gave me a very strong sense of his commitment” to “a re-evaluation of human rights legislation” and “a re-evaluation of the judicial process,” Mr. Kerry expressed confidence that Washington would quickly resume the $1.3 billion a year in military aid to Egypt that the administration had partially suspended after the takeover. The verdict has set off an international backlash against the Egyptian government’s crackdown on news media freedom and political dissent. But it also put the White House in the awkward position of appearing to once again ally itself with an authoritarian leader just three years after President Obama backed the popular uprising against President Hosni Mubarak.
On Monday, however, Mr. Kerry said he had called Egypt’s foreign minister to register his dismay over the sentencing. Mr. Kerry, on a visit to Baghdad on Monday, appeared stunned by the verdict and sentence, telling journalists that he had immediately called the Egyptian foreign minister to express “our serious displeasure.”
“Today’s conviction is obviously a chilling and draconian sentence,” he said. “When I heard the verdict today I was so concerned about it, frankly, disappointed in it, that I immediately picked up the telephone and talked to the foreign minister of Egypt and registered our serious displeasure at this kind of verdict.” “Injustices like these simply cannot stand,” Mr. Kerry said, for Egypt to move forward as Mr. Sisi and his aides “told me just yesterday that they aspire to see their country advance.” He called on the Egyptian government to “review all the political sentences and verdicts pronounced during the last few years and consider all available remedies, including pardons.”
The three journalists convicted on Monday are respected professionals who were reporting for Al Jazeera’s English-language network at the time of their arrest and who had previously worked for established international news organizations. Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian citizen of Egyptian descent, previously worked for CNN and The New York Times; Peter Greste, an Australian, previously worked for the BBC and had spent only a few days in Egypt at the time of his arrest; and Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian, previously worked for the Japanese news organization The Asahi Shimbun. The White House, in its own statement, said that the case “flouts the most basic standards of media freedom and represents a blow to democratic progress in Egypt” because it amounts to “the prosecution of journalists for reporting information that does not coincide with the government of Egypt’s narrative.” And the White House urged the Egyptian government to pardon the journalists or commute their sentences so that they “can be released immediately.”
The Egyptian government, however, stood by the verdict “Due process was adhered to with all of the defendants,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, emphasizing “the complete rejection of any foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs.”
The case has attracted special attention because all three journalists had previously worked for established international news organizations. Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian citizen of Egyptian descent, previously worked for CNN, The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times; Peter Greste, an Australian, previously worked for the BBC and had spent only a few days in Egypt at the time of his arrest; and Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian, previously worked for a Japanese news organization, The Asahi Shimbun.
All three have been in jail since their arrest in December after a raid on Al Jazeera’s makeshift studio in a Marriott Hotel, and they have been described in the state-run and pro-government Egyptian news media as “the Marriott cell.”All three have been in jail since their arrest in December after a raid on Al Jazeera’s makeshift studio in a Marriott Hotel, and they have been described in the state-run and pro-government Egyptian news media as “the Marriott cell.”
Rights advocates have described the charges as farcical. Mr. Mohamed received the additional three years for possession of a weapon; Al Jazeera said that referred to a spent bullet that Mr. Mohamed had recovered as a souvenir at a protest. Mr. Greste is not a Muslim and had spent little time in the Arab world before his arrest. Mr. Fahmy, who said in court that he was a “liberal” who drinks alcohol, personally participated in a march calling for the resignation of President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood last June and then another demonstration to show support for the new military-backed government. Rights advocates have described the charges as farcical. Although all three received sentences of seven years, Mr. Mohamed was given an additional three years for possession of a weapon: a single spent police bullet that he had recovered from a street protest as a souvenir.
When asked by the court to screen the allegedly false news reports obtained from the defendants’ laptops, prosecutors showed images that included Mr. Greste’s family vacation, horses grazing in a pasture in Luxor, Egypt, and a news conference by the Kenyan police that Mr. Greste had covered in Nairobi. Mr. Greste is not a Muslim, speaks no Arabic, and had spent only a few days in the Arab world before his arrest. Mr. Fahmy said in court that he was a “liberal” who drinks alcohol, and he personally participated in a march calling for the resignation of President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood last June. In July, he marched in another demonstration to show support for the new military-backed government that has now sentenced him to seven years in prison.
At the time of the arrests, street protests and civil strife were common enough in Egypt that such broadcasts would have been far easier to film than to fabricate. When asked by the court to screen the allegedly false news reports obtained from the defendants’ laptops, prosecutors showed only unrelated images that included Mr. Greste’s family vacation, horses grazing in a pasture in Luxor, Egypt, and a news conference by the Kenyan police that Mr. Greste had covered in Nairobi.
Judge Mohammed Nagi Shehata, who led a panel of three and wore sunglasses throughout the trial, announced the verdict and sentences without explanation. They are accused of attempting to broadcast false reports of civil strife, but at the time of the arrests, street protests and civil strife were common enough in Egypt that such broadcasts would have been far easier to film than to fabricate.
Several students were also convicted and sentenced along with the journalists, apparently on charges that they had collaborated with the journalists to generate inflammatory news reports of student protests against the takeover. Judge Mohammed Nagi Shehata, who led a panel of three and wore sunglasses throughout the trial, on Monday announced the verdict and sentences without explanation. He also sentenced a group of students tried along with the journalists to seven years in prison. They were apparently convicted of collaborating with the journalists to generate news reports of student protests against the takeover.
Inside the metal cage where defendants are held during Egyptian trials, the accused students immediately erupted into defiant songs and chants, proclaiming that their faith would overcome and denouncing the police as thugs. Mr. Greste looked down in dismay and ran his fingers through his hair. Mr. Fahmy angrily tried to quiet the students so that he could shout across the room to his mother, brother and fiancée, but his voice could not be heard. He clung to the bars as police officers pulled him away by force, dragging him back to his cell. Inside the metal cage where defendants are held during Egyptian trials, the accused students immediately erupted into defiant songs and chants, proclaiming that their faith would overcome and denouncing the police as thugs. Mr. Greste looked down in dismay and ran his fingers through his hair. Mr. Fahmy angrily tried to quiet the students so that he could shout across the room to his mother, brother and fiancée, but his voice could not be heard. He clung to the bars as police officers pulled him away, dragging him back to his cell.
“There is no hope in the judicial system,” Mr. Fahmy’s mother, Waffa Basiouni, wailed tearfully. “They give him seven years with no evidence — if they had evidence, how many years would they give him?”“There is no hope in the judicial system,” Mr. Fahmy’s mother, Waffa Basiouni, wailed tearfully. “They give him seven years with no evidence — if they had evidence, how many years would they give him?”
The defendants may appeal the verdict, but the process could take years.The defendants may appeal the verdict, but the process could take years.
Outside the courtroom, the British, Australian and Canadian ambassadors all denounced the conviction as a blow to freedom of the press, and all pledged diplomatic pressure to free the imprisoned journalists. Outside the courtroom, the Australian, British and Canadian ambassadors denounced the conviction as a blow to freedom of the press, and pledged diplomatic pressure to free the imprisoned journalists.
“There is no incriminating evidence with regard to the charges and there were multiple procedural shortcomings,” David Drake, the Canadian ambassador, said. “Therefore, we do not understand this verdict.”“There is no incriminating evidence with regard to the charges and there were multiple procedural shortcomings,” David Drake, the Canadian ambassador, said. “Therefore, we do not understand this verdict.”
At a news conference in the Australian capital, Canberra, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she was “shocked” by the verdict and “appalled” by the sentence. “This kind of verdict does nothing to support Egypt’s claim to be on a transition to democracy,” she said. The British and Dutch governments said they were summoning the Egyptian ambassadors to their countries. The Committee to Protect Journalists numbers them among as many as 15 journalists now held in Egyptian prisons. All have been ensnared in a sweeping crackdown on both Islamist and non-Islamist opponents of the military ouster of Mr. Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood last July 3. More than a thousand Islamist demonstrators were killed by security forces at street protests within a few weeks of the takeover, and at least 16,000 have been arrested.
Amnesty International said in a statement that the group considered all three journalists to be “prisoners of conscience.” It was “a dark day for media freedom in Egypt, when journalists are being locked up and branded criminals or ‘terrorists’ simply for doing their job,” Philip Luther, the group’s director for the Middle East and North Africa. “The verdict provides further evidence that Egyptian authorities will stop at nothing in the ruthless campaign to crush anyone who challenges the official narrative, regardless of how questionable the evidence against them is.” In the state-run and pro-government news media, supporters of the military takeover have directed particular anger at Al Jazeera, which is owned by the government of Qatar. The network is the only major Arabic-language news outlet still available in Egypt that is sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The journalists’ careers at international news organizations have raised the profile of their case, but the Committee to Protect Journalists numbers them among as many as fifteen journalists in Egyptian prisons. All have been caught up in a sweeping crackdown on both Islamist and non-Islamist opponents of the military ouster of Mr. Morsi on July 3 of last year. More than a thousand Islamist demonstrators were killed by security forces at street protests within a few weeks of the takeover, and at least 16,000 have been arrested. Three other journalists were convicted in absentia and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Among them are the British journalists Sue Turton and Dominic Kane and the Dutch journalist Rena Netjes.
Many of the jailed journalists have some affiliation with small Egyptian news outlets associated with the Islamist opposition. In the state-run and pro-government media, supporters of the military takeover have directed particular anger at Al Jazeera, which is owned by the government of Qatar. The network is the only major Arabic-language news outlet still available in Egypt that is sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood. Many supporters of the new government routinely portray the network as a terrorist organization with satellites, and the authorities have effectively shut down its operations inside Egypt. After Mr. Sisi’s inauguration this month, there were hopes that he might pardon or release the imprisoned journalists. But there was no indication on Monday that there would be either an imminent pardon or a commutation of the sentences.
Journalists for Al Jazeera’s English-language network note that its coverage is more neutral than its Arabic sister network and less favorable to the Brotherhood. But the three journalists who were sentenced on Monday appear to have been caught up in the broader campaign against Al Jazeera as a whole. In his statement, Mr. Kerry condemned the “chilling, draconian sentences,” faulted the trial for lacking “many fundamental norms of due process,” and called it “a deeply disturbing setback to Egypt’s transition.”
Police arrested Mr. Fahmy and Mr. Greste in their hotel suite in late December, and pro-government media later broadcast a video of the raid set to the sinister, thumping beat of the soundtrack to the film, “Thor: The Dark World.” The cameras lingered over footage of laptops, communications equipment, stage lights and copies of Mr. Fahmy’s book about the revolution, “Egypt Freedom Story.”
Several other journalists were convicted in absentia and sentenced to ten years in prison. Among them are the British journalists Sue Turton and Dominic Kane and the Dutch journalist Rena Netjes. Ms. Netjes, who has never worked for Al Jazeera, was apparently charged because she had met with Mr. Fahmy at the Marriott to discuss coverage of the Sinai region. Egyptian officials evidently notified the Dutch Embassy of the charges against her before the police could apprehend her, allowing her to leave Egypt before she could be arrested.
After Mr. Sisi’s inauguration this month, there were hopes that he might pardon or release the imprisoned journalists. Such gestures have been a tradition among newly installed Arab leaders, and last week prosecutors released another Al Jazeera journalist, Abdullah Elshamy, who worked for the organization’s main Arabic-language network. Imprisoned without charges since his arrest at a checkpoint on Aug. 14, Mr. Elshamy had conducted a hunger strike that had begun to endanger his health.
On Monday, he visited the scene of the trial, inside the Tora prison, to show his support for the defendants.
A spokesman for the Egyptian government declined to comment on the sentences, and there was no indication that there would be an imminent pardon or commutation of the sentences.