The Al-Jazeera Media Network expressed its anger over the decision of an Egyptian court to postpone the re-trial verdict for the network’s journalists. The network regarded the postponement as a means of pressuring the journalists and their families and called for the dropping of all charges against them.
Al-Jazeera Media Network Director General, Mustafa Sawaq, said in a statement, “we are angry at the postponement, as the final verdict was set to be issued today [Thursday].”
He added that the network is standing by the others and that he expects a quick end to the plight of journalists Baher Mohamed, Peter Greste, and Mohamed Fahmy.
The Cairo Criminal Court decided on Thursday to postpone the announcement of the verdict in the re-trial of the three Al-Jazeera English journalists to next Sunday. Fahmy and Baher stood before the Tora prison court, near Cairo, where the verdict was set to be announced, but the court issued a ruling postponing the verdict.
The Egyptian Court of Cassation decided earlier this year re-examine the case after accepting an appeal. This is due to the fact that the court had decided that there is no basis or grounds for the charges.
It is worth noting that the three journalists were arrested in 2013 after the military coup. Last summer, Baher Mohamed was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste were sentenced to seven.
The court decided last February to release Baher Mohammed, confining him to his home, while Greste was released and deported to his country and Mohamed Fahmy was forced to give up his Egyptian nationality and kept his Canadian nationality.