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Retrial in Egypt al-Jazeera Greste, Fahmy and Mohamed case | Retrial in Egypt al-Jazeera Greste, Fahmy and Mohamed case |
(35 minutes later) | |
Egypt's top court has ordered a retrial of three al-Jazeera journalists jailed for spreading false news. | Egypt's top court has ordered a retrial of three al-Jazeera journalists jailed for spreading false news. |
The decision was made after the hearing in Cairo of an appeal by the three, Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, against their conviction. | The decision was made after the hearing in Cairo of an appeal by the three, Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, against their conviction. |
Prosecutors acknowledged major problems with the verdict, defence lawyers said. A new trial will occur within a month but the trio must stay in custody. | Prosecutors acknowledged major problems with the verdict, defence lawyers said. A new trial will occur within a month but the trio must stay in custody. |
The journalists deny collaborating with the banned Muslim Brotherhood. | The journalists deny collaborating with the banned Muslim Brotherhood. |
They say they were simply reporting the news. | They say they were simply reporting the news. |
They were accused of aiding the banned organisation after the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi by the military in 2013. | They were accused of aiding the banned organisation after the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi by the military in 2013. |
Two of them are foreign nationals - Peter Greste, a former BBC correspondent, is Australian, and his producer colleague Mohammed Fahmy holds Egyptian and Canadian citizenship. | Two of them are foreign nationals - Peter Greste, a former BBC correspondent, is Australian, and his producer colleague Mohammed Fahmy holds Egyptian and Canadian citizenship. |
The three journalists have now spent a year in jail since they were first arrested in December 2013. | The three journalists have now spent a year in jail since they were first arrested in December 2013. |
They were convicted in June - with Fahmy and Greste jailed for seven years and Mohamed for 10 years. | |
Judges have ruled that they should remain in custody until the new trial. | Judges have ruled that they should remain in custody until the new trial. |
'Hoped for more' | |
Thursday's court session began at 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT) and lasted just 30 minutes. None of the defendants were present. | |
Reacting to the hearing, Greste's mother Lois said the decision was "not as good as we hoped". | |
Fahmy's brother Adel said he had "hoped for more" - that his brother would be freed, at least on bail. | |
Key dates | Key dates |
The BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo says that the case has been hugely damaging for Egypt and there are strong indications that the authorities want to bring it to a close. | The BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo says that the case has been hugely damaging for Egypt and there are strong indications that the authorities want to bring it to a close. |
A recent thaw in relations between Egypt and Qatar - which owns the TV channel - has heightened expectations, our correspondent says, and there is a growing belief here that the journalists will eventually be freed even if the time frame is uncertain. | |
In December al-Jazeera decided to suspend its Egyptian channel, Mubasher Misr (Live Egypt), whose coverage had become a major source of tension between the two countries. | |
Analysts speculated that the channel's suspension might ease the way for Egypt to free the three journalists in line with a recently-approved law that allows foreign citizens to be deported rather than jailed. | |
President Sisi has said in the past he wished the journalists had been deported rather than being put on trial. | President Sisi has said in the past he wished the journalists had been deported rather than being put on trial. |