Amnesty International has called for the release of two reporters of Qatari satellite news channel Al Jazeera from Egypt after the government released Australian Peter Greste and deported him to home on Sunday.
Along with Greste, Canadian-Egyptian Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy, were handed a seven-year sentence last year over charges of disseminating false news since the current government toppled former president Mohamed Morsy. The current government has been extremely hostile to Al Jazeera over what it describes as its bias against the government in covering protests against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s regime.
“The news that Peter Greste will finally be allowed to leave Egypt after more than a year in prison comes as a welcome relief, but nothing can make up for his ordeal. It is vital that in the celebratory fanfare surrounding his deportation the world does not forget the continuing ordeal of Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy who remain behind bars at Tora prison in Cairo,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, as quoted by the organization's report on Sunday.
“All three men are facing trumped up charges and were forced to endure a farcical trial marred by irregularities. Continuing to detain Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy is completely unjust and unwarranted,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, accusing the government of Egypt and Qatar of using the dilemma of the reporters as a pressure tool in their political disputes.
