#FreeAJStaff : A year later

From a year ago , the Al Jazeera International Staff “Mohamed Fadel , Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed” were arrested by Egyptian security forces and were accused of being members of the newly designated terrorist organization then “The Muslim Brotherhood”.
After few months in a very quick that was a just another episode in the continuing Show in Egypt “Let’s insult justice” over and over , the three were sentenced from seven up to ten years in jail. The case created international outcry that has not stopped right now.
Today journalists from around the globe protest the imprisonment of the three in Egypt in their own ways.

There were small protests in front of the Egyptian embassy in London , Washington D.C and The Hague. Dutch journalist Rena Nejtes , who was convicted in absentia in the same trial was among the protesters in the Hague.
The Grestes and the Australian government have not been silent this year , they plead several times to El-Sisi pardon Greste but the man was clear. He would interfere and possibly pardon them after the appeal. The appeal will start 1st January.

Needless to say there were many hopes in the past few weeks after ratifying that law allowing foreign defendants on trial to be sent home to be tried or serve their sentence. Some  believed that that law would be a gateway to both Peter Greste and Mohamed Fadel who is actually Egyptian Canadian citizen. For instance Mohamed Fadel’s family demanded that he would be sent to Canada but they got no answer.

Baher's Sony by Sherin Tadros

Nevertheless nothing happened. Once again the hopes reached to the sky last week when the Egyptian Qatari reconciliation was announced and Al Jazeera Network decided to take off its Al Jazeera Mubshar Misr off air. Again some believed that this would bring good news to the detained journalists but nothing happened.

Personally I think people should wait the appeal. May be they will be acquitted or may be El-Sisi will pardon them after the appeal after all. 

I hope you do not forget other defendants in the case including the students as well Baher Mohamed. Baher’s son is asking about his father and I do not think that he will understand that his dad is paying the price of a nasty dirty regional political war. Baher had another baby son while he was detained. 

I have a little confession, sometimes I feel jealous that Greste , Fadel and Mohamed got the world in their back somehow when the rest of young Egyptian activists detained and sentenced to jail because of the protest law got no support what so ever.

I know it is silly and I am sorry to say but Peter Greste does not know how much he is lucky despite his misfortune to have this kind of support. I say this and all I think about is Freelance photographer Shawkan and his brothers in jail . These young men are completely neglected and forgotten in Egypt Shamefully.

Journalism is not a crime.