Greste calls for Sisi pardon
Australian Al-Jazeera reporter Peter Greste yesterday called for Egypt's president to pardon him and two colleagues handed prison sentences in a shock ruling that sparked international condemnation and which he described as "politically motivated".
The Cairo court said Greste, along with Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed, had broadcast "false" news that had harmed Egypt and sentenced them to three years in jail.
The case has become an embarrassment for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has said he wished the reporters had been deported rather than put on trial.
He may pardon them if he chooses.
"It is now up to President Sisi to do what he said he would do from the outset and that is pardon us if we were ever convicted," Greste, who was tried in absentia after being deported early this year, told reporters in Sydney yesterday.
The three journalists were sentenced to between seven and 10 years in jail last year, but an appeals court in January granted them a retrial, saying the verdict had not been backed by evidence.
They were arrested in December 2013, months after the military overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and launched a deadly crackdown on his supporters.
Fahmy and Mohamed were in the Cairo court for the verdict.
Meanwhile, Egypt's foreign ministry yesterday summoned the British ambassador over his criticism of prison sentences.
The verdict sparked condemnation worldwide.
Canada urged Egypt to allow for Fahmy's immediate return to Canada, after he renounced his Egyptian nationality in order to be deported like his Australian colleague.
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