The Association for International Broadcasting has expressed its outrage at sentences imposed by a court in Cairo on three Al Jazeera journalists on 29 August. Baher Mohamed, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Peter Greste were sentenced to three years imprisonment following convictions of disseminating false information and working without a licence.
“The AIB condemns the sentences imposed on the three Al Jazeera journalists, which we see as a political statement by the Egyptian government,” said Simon Spanswick, chief executive of the AIB. “It is clear that the three journalists did not commit any crime and that the verdict demonstrates the failure of integrity of the judicial system in Egypt. Furthermore, it casts severe doubt on press freedom in Egypt where it is estimated more than 20 journalists are currently imprisoned.”
This high profile case has dragged on for months with conflicting messages being issued by the judiciary and by the executive throughout.
The three journalists were released in February 2015 after being detained for more than a year in jail. Peter Greste was tried in absentia following his deportation to Australia in February. Baher Mohamed was given a further six month sentence for possessing a bullet.
AIB believes that the sentences – together with the continued detention of other journalists in Egypt – are blows against freedom of expression in Egypt. Furthermore, the actions of the Egyptian authorities work against the interests of the country’s citizens whose access to news and information is being curtailed by the government.
AIB will be taking up the issue with the Egyptian authorities.
Download the PDF version of the AIB press release here.
Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste has been released by Egyptian authorities after over a year of incarceration. Greste’s two colleagues, journalists Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy still remain imprisoned.
Al Jazeera has said that the campaign to free its journalists in Egypt will not end till all three have been released. The network says that all three must be exonerated, and the convictions against its other journalists tried in absentia also have to be lifted.
Mostefa Souag, acting Director General of Al Jazeera Media Network said:
“We’re pleased for Peter and his family that they are to be reunited. It has been an incredible and unjustifiable ordeal for them, and they have coped with incredible dignity. Peter’s integrity is not just intact, but has been further enhanced by the fortitude and sacrifice he has shown for his profession of informing the public.
“We will not rest until Baher and Mohamed also regain their freedom. The Egyptian authorities have it in their power to finish this properly today, and that is exactly what they must do.”
In an interview with AIB last month, Al Jazeera’s Head of Global Newsgathering, Heather Allan, said:
“We are fighting it every inch of the way. We don’t know which way it’s going to bounce. The first trial, quite honestly, was just a mockery of justice. You go through the evidence that was shown, there really was nothing there. Nothing there at all.
“Peter Greste had been in the country for ten days. He’d never been to Cairo before. The few reports he had done were all online. You can see them. We’ve always said to people: “Please, look at the journalism. It’s there. We’re not hiding anything.” Mohamed Fahmy had been working for everybody from the New York Times to CNN. He was a well known journalist around Cairo. Baher Mohamed worked for the Japanese – a younger journalist, and well known to the Cairo press corps. I think they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
The Kenyan government has ordered that news agency Al Jazeera be investigated and face possible charges, over the network’s recent report alleging that the Kenyan police had been running death squads, with the knowledge of Western powers.
The Al Jazeera documentary, Inside Kenya’s Death Squads, asserted that the most high-profile assassinations were aimed at Muslim leaders, including those with links to the al-Shabab militant group and that Western intelligence agencies provided some of the information needed to carry out the killings.
The controversy comes just as Kenyan lawmakers in the country’s National Assembly are fiercely debating new security laws, which include proposals to limit picketing and holding public meetings.
The twitter feed of Kenya’s Interior CNG Ministry has promoted a hashtag #SecuringKenya, and responded to the Al Jazeera documentary in a series of tweets:
Govt has instructed relevant authorities to begin investigations with a view to bringing charges against those involved in…cont’d.
…Aljazeera documentary..
The documentary was deliberately planned & aired at a time when Kenya is seeking support to strengthen it’s war against terror.. cont’d
Cont’d through legislative reforms.
The tone & subjective nature of the documentary was deliberately skewed to support & empathise with terrorists & their sympathisers cont’d..
cont’d…without any consideration for the hundreds of innocent Kenyans who have died in the hands of terrorists.
The timing of the documentary is also suspicious & appears meant to derail KE’s efforts to fight terrorism.
Three Al Jazeera journalists, Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed, have been jailed by Egyptian authorities for almost a year.
Interpol, the international organisation for police cooperation, has rejected a request from Egypt to issue one of its red notices against Ahmed Mansour, an Al Jazeera journalist.
According to Interpol’s website, a red notices is issued in order “to seek the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition of similar lawful action.”
Mr. Mansour was convicted earlier this month in absentia by an Egyptian court and given a 15-year jail term for carrying out alleged torture during the January 25th revolution in 2011. Mr. Mansour rejected the charges as absurd, while Al Jazeera dismissed the accusation as an attempt at character assassination against of one of its leading journalists.
In an email to Al Jazeera’s lawyers, Interpol confirmed receiving a request from Egypt’s National Central Bureau about Mansour, but said that Egypt’s red notice request “did not meet Interpol’s rules”.
An Al Jazeera spokesman said:
“This is further evidence of how Egypt’s legal actions against Al Jazeera are perceived as part of a political campaign against the network. This campaign is plainly not working and we will not be intimidated – journalists and citizens across the world are horrified by these breaches of basic press freedom. After the unjust imprisonment of three of our journalists last year who remain in Egyptian prison, and this unwarranted pursuit of one of the Arab world’s most prominent journalists, the Egyptian authorities should stop undermining freedom of speech, one of the pillars of the civilized world.”
The network also reiterated its call for the release of the three Al Jazeera English journalists – Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohammed – who have been in jail since December 29th, 2013 as part of a separate case.
Al Jazeera, Russia Today the Telegraph Media Group and VICE are amongst the leading global media companies to have recently launched dedicated channels on Dailymotion, the world’s second largest video portal.
Al Jazeera’s English and Arabic live news channels have now launched on Dailymotion. Under the deal, Dailymotion will live stream the two news channels. Al Jazeera will also upload highlighted video news clips daily from both channels that will be available on demand to Dailymotion users.
The partnership with Al Jazeera adds to the stable of world-leading news content available on Dailymotion including CNN International, Bloomberg and France24.
“Foreign Correspondents: How They See Us,” is the first project of several Dailymotion plans to co-produce with youth media company VICE (www.vice.com). Over five episodes, “Foreign Correspondents” follows international journalists from Hong Kong, France, the Middle East, Australia and Italy as they grapple with the turbulent, boisterous hustle of the recent US Presidential Election campaign.
Thousands of videos and news bulletins from Russia Today, the first Russian 24/7 English-language news channel that brings the Russian view on global news, and the Telegraph Media Group, home of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, will also be uploaded to Dailymotion over the coming months.
Harriet Fuest, UK Content Manager at Dailymotion, said: “Dailymotion is really proud to be a distribution platform for some of the world’s leading media. The demand for live news coverage and news videos on demand has grown dramatically over the last 24 months as people have sought independent and up-to-the-minute news on era-defining global events such as the Arab Spring, the election in the US and the growth of China. Dailymotion users can now access an even wider range of news highlights on demand that is complemented by a live stream, ensuring that they can get all their breaking global news on just one site.”
Russia Today on Dailymotion: http://www.dailymotion.com/RTnews VICE on Dailymotion: http://www.dailymotion.com/vice Al Jazeera on Dailymotion: http://www.dailymotion.com/aljazeeraenglish
The Telegraph Group on Dailymotion: http://www.dailymotion.com/telegraphvideo
