SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reviews his notes before a meeting with Egyptian Minister of Defense General Abdul Fatah Khalil al-Sisi in Cairo, Egypt, on November 3, 2013. (Wikimedia / Creative Commons)
Egypt Rebuffs Global Call to Free Al Jazeera Journalists
In Tuesday speech, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi refuses clemency
Jun 24, 2014
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi announced Tuesday he will not grant clemency to Al Jazeera journalists and other reporters and activists sentenced to prison, despite international calls for their release, including from Egypt's U.S. backers.
In a televised speech delivered Tuesday morning, al-Sisi stated, "There were a lot of discussions about a verdict [on Monday]. I spoke to the minister of justice and agreed that we will not interfere," according to the Egyptian state-run paper Al Ahram.
An Egyptian judge on Monday handed seven to ten year prison terms to three Al Jazeera English journalists--Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed--and a group of students accused of collaborating with them. Two Al Jazeera journalists and a freelance reporter were also sentenced in absentia.
The aggressive prosecution of the defendants, who were charged with spreading "false news" and cast as "terrorists" for allegedly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, is widely viewed as part of the Egyptian government's crackdown on free press and political dissent across the country. The military-backed interim government, headed by al-Sisi, killed thousands of people, disappeared hundreds, and detained over 16,000--including numerous journalists and political activists who played key roles in the 2011 overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak.
Monday's verdict, which came less than a month after al-Sisi was sworn in as Egypt's president, sparked outrage and shock in the courtroom and uproar around the world, including condemnation from human rights organization, journalists, and governments.
Sherif Gaber, member of the Mosireen Independent Media Collective in Cairo, declared in a statement released Tuesday, "What has to be understood is that the enormity of the issue is not just about the foreign Al Jazeera journalists, or even journalists in general, but that the scope and scale of politically motivated imprisonment in Egypt right now is astonishing."
In a statement released Monday, the Committee to Protect Journalists slammed the verdict as "Egypt's Shame," declaring, "The trial was almost farcical, and among the evidence admitted were family vacation photos and footage of news reports from other networks on unrelated subjects."
"To have sentenced them defies logic, sense, and any semblance of justice," declared Al Jazeera English managing director Al Anstey in a press statement issued Monday.
Al-Sisi is refusing to pardon the incarcerated journalists despite a plea from the United States--a key backer of the Egyptian government.
The White House on Monday condemned the verdicts in a statement that reads, "We call on the Egyptian government to pardon these individuals or commute their sentences so they can be released immediately, and grant clemency for all politically motivated sentences - starting with the other defendants in this trial."
The statement said nothing about whether the verdict will affect U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's pledge, issued this weekend, to redouble support and renew military aid to the Egyptian government.
Reports and commentary are being posted to Twitter:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi announced Tuesday he will not grant clemency to Al Jazeera journalists and other reporters and activists sentenced to prison, despite international calls for their release, including from Egypt's U.S. backers.
In a televised speech delivered Tuesday morning, al-Sisi stated, "There were a lot of discussions about a verdict [on Monday]. I spoke to the minister of justice and agreed that we will not interfere," according to the Egyptian state-run paper Al Ahram.
An Egyptian judge on Monday handed seven to ten year prison terms to three Al Jazeera English journalists--Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed--and a group of students accused of collaborating with them. Two Al Jazeera journalists and a freelance reporter were also sentenced in absentia.
The aggressive prosecution of the defendants, who were charged with spreading "false news" and cast as "terrorists" for allegedly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, is widely viewed as part of the Egyptian government's crackdown on free press and political dissent across the country. The military-backed interim government, headed by al-Sisi, killed thousands of people, disappeared hundreds, and detained over 16,000--including numerous journalists and political activists who played key roles in the 2011 overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak.
Monday's verdict, which came less than a month after al-Sisi was sworn in as Egypt's president, sparked outrage and shock in the courtroom and uproar around the world, including condemnation from human rights organization, journalists, and governments.
Sherif Gaber, member of the Mosireen Independent Media Collective in Cairo, declared in a statement released Tuesday, "What has to be understood is that the enormity of the issue is not just about the foreign Al Jazeera journalists, or even journalists in general, but that the scope and scale of politically motivated imprisonment in Egypt right now is astonishing."
In a statement released Monday, the Committee to Protect Journalists slammed the verdict as "Egypt's Shame," declaring, "The trial was almost farcical, and among the evidence admitted were family vacation photos and footage of news reports from other networks on unrelated subjects."
"To have sentenced them defies logic, sense, and any semblance of justice," declared Al Jazeera English managing director Al Anstey in a press statement issued Monday.
Al-Sisi is refusing to pardon the incarcerated journalists despite a plea from the United States--a key backer of the Egyptian government.
The White House on Monday condemned the verdicts in a statement that reads, "We call on the Egyptian government to pardon these individuals or commute their sentences so they can be released immediately, and grant clemency for all politically motivated sentences - starting with the other defendants in this trial."
The statement said nothing about whether the verdict will affect U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's pledge, issued this weekend, to redouble support and renew military aid to the Egyptian government.
Reports and commentary are being posted to Twitter:
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi announced Tuesday he will not grant clemency to Al Jazeera journalists and other reporters and activists sentenced to prison, despite international calls for their release, including from Egypt's U.S. backers.
In a televised speech delivered Tuesday morning, al-Sisi stated, "There were a lot of discussions about a verdict [on Monday]. I spoke to the minister of justice and agreed that we will not interfere," according to the Egyptian state-run paper Al Ahram.
An Egyptian judge on Monday handed seven to ten year prison terms to three Al Jazeera English journalists--Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed--and a group of students accused of collaborating with them. Two Al Jazeera journalists and a freelance reporter were also sentenced in absentia.
The aggressive prosecution of the defendants, who were charged with spreading "false news" and cast as "terrorists" for allegedly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, is widely viewed as part of the Egyptian government's crackdown on free press and political dissent across the country. The military-backed interim government, headed by al-Sisi, killed thousands of people, disappeared hundreds, and detained over 16,000--including numerous journalists and political activists who played key roles in the 2011 overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak.
Monday's verdict, which came less than a month after al-Sisi was sworn in as Egypt's president, sparked outrage and shock in the courtroom and uproar around the world, including condemnation from human rights organization, journalists, and governments.
Sherif Gaber, member of the Mosireen Independent Media Collective in Cairo, declared in a statement released Tuesday, "What has to be understood is that the enormity of the issue is not just about the foreign Al Jazeera journalists, or even journalists in general, but that the scope and scale of politically motivated imprisonment in Egypt right now is astonishing."
In a statement released Monday, the Committee to Protect Journalists slammed the verdict as "Egypt's Shame," declaring, "The trial was almost farcical, and among the evidence admitted were family vacation photos and footage of news reports from other networks on unrelated subjects."
"To have sentenced them defies logic, sense, and any semblance of justice," declared Al Jazeera English managing director Al Anstey in a press statement issued Monday.
Al-Sisi is refusing to pardon the incarcerated journalists despite a plea from the United States--a key backer of the Egyptian government.
The White House on Monday condemned the verdicts in a statement that reads, "We call on the Egyptian government to pardon these individuals or commute their sentences so they can be released immediately, and grant clemency for all politically motivated sentences - starting with the other defendants in this trial."
The statement said nothing about whether the verdict will affect U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's pledge, issued this weekend, to redouble support and renew military aid to the Egyptian government.
Reports and commentary are being posted to Twitter:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.