3 Al Jazeera Journalists Convicted

A six month courtroom drama that provoked an international outcry from journalists and human rights groups came to a shocking climax today in Cairo when an Egyptian court sentenced three al Jazeera journalists to long prison terms on charges of collaborating with terrorists to broadcast false reports.

A six month courtroom drama that provoked an international outcry from journalists and human rights groups came to a shocking climax today in Cairo when an Egyptian court sentenced three al Jazeera journalists to long prison terms on charges of collaborating with terrorists to broadcast false reports.

The journalists, all of whom are highly regarded professionals, include Egyptian-Canadian national Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, Australian Peter Greste and Egyptian cameraman Mohamed Baher. All three have been in jail since December when they were arrested during a raid on Al Jazeera’s studio in a Marriott hotel. State-run and pro-government media have referred to the journalists as “the Marriott cell,” as if it is a terrorist group.

During the trial, no evidence was produced that showed any wrongdoing on the part of the journalists. According to the New York Times, “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.”

"None of the evidence at trial suggested [the Al Jazeera journalists] were anything other than independent news professionals," Dart Center Executive Director Bruce Shapiro said. "I can only hope that Egyptian authorities who hear their appeal will understand what the trial judge did not: Journalism is not a crime; news reporting is a basic human right; and these men should be freed immediately."

In February, the Dart Center and the Columbia Journalism School jointly wrote an open protest letter to acting President Adly Mahmoud Mansour, who was replaced earlier this month by newly elected Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former military general who led last summer's military takeover.

Philip Luther, Amnesty International's director for the Middle East and North Africa, called it “a dark day for media freedom in Egypt, when journalists are being locked up and branded criminals or ‘terrorists’ simply for doing their job."

Several students were also convicted and sentenced on charges that they had collaborated with the journalists to produce inflammatory reports of student protests. 

The sentences come one day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry left Egypt, saying he felt a “very strong sense” of el-Sisi’s commitment to “a re-evaluation of human rights legislation” and “a re-evaluation of the judicial process.” Kerry suggested that the $1.3 billion per year in U.S. military aid to Egypt that had been partially suspended would resume.