Cairo: Egypt president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi on Monday said that he would not “interfere” with the judiciary over the sentencing of al-Jazeera journalists in Cairo, which triggered global outrage. “We must respect judicial rulings and not criticise them even if others do not understand this,” al-Sisi said.
A court in Cairo found al-Jazeera’s Cairo bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, who is Canadian-Egyptian, Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed and Australian correspondent Peter Greste guilty of spreading false news. The trio had denied the charges and are expected to appeal.
Earlier, Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop said that Canberra would work with the Egyptian government to try to secure Mr Greste’s release “as soon as possible”. “We are devastated, shocked and dismayed at this finding,” Greste’s father said, adding, “We support Egypt’s transition to democracy, but that also includes freedom of speech and press.”
The three defendants denied charges of spreading false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood The three men were seized in a raid at a Cairo hotel on December 29 and have been held at Cairo’s Tora prison.
