Seven al-Jazeera journalists convicted in absentia on spurious
terror-related charges in Egypt have begun the process of requesting a
formal pardon from Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
The move comes just a week after two al-Jazeera colleagues, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, were pardoned by Sisi following two years in prison. Their pardons now clear a legal pathway for the group of seven, which includes Australian reporter Peter Greste and two British correspondents, to see their convictions overturned.
At a press conference in New York on Tuesday, Greste said the remaining conviction had placed him under a “form of glorified house arrest” by limiting his ability to travel.
“Once I was released from prison, I thought I was going to be free. It turns out that I’m not. I still have this conviction and all of its consequences hanging over my head,” said Greste, speaking at the offices of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Egypt has extraditions treaties with dozens of countries, including many countries in the African Union and the Middle East.
In June, al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour was detained in Germany following an extradition request from the Egyptian government. He was later released following a review by the Berlin state prosecutor’s office.
Greste and 19 other al-Jazeera reporters were charged with false reporting, bringing Egypt into disrepute and conspiring with terrorists. He, along with Fahmy, a Canadian national, and local producer Mohamed, were arrested in a raid in Cairo in December 2013 and were held in solitary confinement for a month before being charged.
Greste spent over 400 days imprisoned in Egypt before he was deported in February only to be convicted in absentia during a retrial.
The Australian said on Tuesday that he had formally commenced pardon proceedings by submitting a letter to the president through the Egyptian courts. His case had already taken a positive turn after Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop met with her Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry at the UN general assembly on Friday and was informed the president was investigating the legal avenues available to grant a pardon.
The British foreign office is yet to make a public comment on the potential pardons for Sue Turton, a former al-Jazeera English foreign correspondent who quit earlier in the year after claiming the travel restrictions imposed by the conviction made it impossible to work and senior producer Dominic Kane, who remains employed by the news agency.
Responding to a question from the Guardian on Tuesday, Turton said the pair were receiving assistance from the foreign office, but had not been given specific information on the nature of the lobbying conducted on their behalf.
“The foreign office tell us there is an awful lot going on behind the scenes, there have been various meetings at UNGA. I don’t know any details but they tell us that they are putting forward our case on a regular basis,” Turton said.
Both Turton and Kane said they were at the “very beginning stages” of the pardon process and had requested the foreign office act on their behalf.
“We are operating in a sort of fugitive limbo. Over the past, nearly two years now, we have been afraid perhaps of where we could go to, what countries we could report from, and it has had a serious impact on our careers,” Kane added.
The other four reporters involved in the case are all Egyptian: Mohamed Fawzy, a senior cameraman; Anas Abdel Wahab, a senior producer; Khalil Bahnacy, acting head of transmission at Al Jazeera documentary and Alaa Bayoumi, a senior producer. The latter three have been unable to return to Egypt following the court action.
At least 18 other journalists are currently imprisoned in Egypt, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The move comes just a week after two al-Jazeera colleagues, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, were pardoned by Sisi following two years in prison. Their pardons now clear a legal pathway for the group of seven, which includes Australian reporter Peter Greste and two British correspondents, to see their convictions overturned.
At a press conference in New York on Tuesday, Greste said the remaining conviction had placed him under a “form of glorified house arrest” by limiting his ability to travel.
“Once I was released from prison, I thought I was going to be free. It turns out that I’m not. I still have this conviction and all of its consequences hanging over my head,” said Greste, speaking at the offices of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Egypt has extraditions treaties with dozens of countries, including many countries in the African Union and the Middle East.
In June, al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour was detained in Germany following an extradition request from the Egyptian government. He was later released following a review by the Berlin state prosecutor’s office.
Greste and 19 other al-Jazeera reporters were charged with false reporting, bringing Egypt into disrepute and conspiring with terrorists. He, along with Fahmy, a Canadian national, and local producer Mohamed, were arrested in a raid in Cairo in December 2013 and were held in solitary confinement for a month before being charged.
Greste spent over 400 days imprisoned in Egypt before he was deported in February only to be convicted in absentia during a retrial.
The Australian said on Tuesday that he had formally commenced pardon proceedings by submitting a letter to the president through the Egyptian courts. His case had already taken a positive turn after Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop met with her Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry at the UN general assembly on Friday and was informed the president was investigating the legal avenues available to grant a pardon.
The British foreign office is yet to make a public comment on the potential pardons for Sue Turton, a former al-Jazeera English foreign correspondent who quit earlier in the year after claiming the travel restrictions imposed by the conviction made it impossible to work and senior producer Dominic Kane, who remains employed by the news agency.
Responding to a question from the Guardian on Tuesday, Turton said the pair were receiving assistance from the foreign office, but had not been given specific information on the nature of the lobbying conducted on their behalf.
“The foreign office tell us there is an awful lot going on behind the scenes, there have been various meetings at UNGA. I don’t know any details but they tell us that they are putting forward our case on a regular basis,” Turton said.
Both Turton and Kane said they were at the “very beginning stages” of the pardon process and had requested the foreign office act on their behalf.
“We are operating in a sort of fugitive limbo. Over the past, nearly two years now, we have been afraid perhaps of where we could go to, what countries we could report from, and it has had a serious impact on our careers,” Kane added.
The other four reporters involved in the case are all Egyptian: Mohamed Fawzy, a senior cameraman; Anas Abdel Wahab, a senior producer; Khalil Bahnacy, acting head of transmission at Al Jazeera documentary and Alaa Bayoumi, a senior producer. The latter three have been unable to return to Egypt following the court action.
At least 18 other journalists are currently imprisoned in Egypt, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
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