Committee to Protect Journalists

CPJ promotes press freedom worldwide and defends the right of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal.

#al jazeera

Obama speaks out over Egypt’s jailing of Al Jazeera journalists

aljazeerapr:

Thursday, 7 August: President of the United States Barack Obama has once again called for the release of Al Jazeera English journalists, jailed for seven years in Cairo on 23 June this year.

Speaking Wednesday on the last day of the US-Africa summit in Washington DC, Obama addressed the issue in clear terms, stating the US demands the freedom of journalists to report, a basic tenet of a civilised society:

“The specific issue with the Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt we have been clear both publicly and privately that they should be released”, Obama stated. “We have been very consistent in pushing governments not just in Africa but around the world to respect the right of journalists to practice their trade. As a critical part of civil society and a critical part of any democratic norm”.

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: “ The judge who sentenced Australian journalist Peter Greste and his colleagues to 7+ years jail has now accused them of being in league with the devil, continue reading. These journalists are prisoners of conscience. Join our call for their...

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The judge who sentenced Australian journalist Peter Greste and his colleagues to 7+ years jail has now accused them of being in league with the devil, continue reading.

These journalists are prisoners of conscience. Join our call for their release, send a message!

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Image credit: EPA/KHALED ELFIQI

Evidence Used To Jail Al Jazeera Journalists In Egypt

#FreeAJStaff: Al Jazeera Reporter Sentenced in Absentia Decries Egypt’s Imprisonment of 3 Colleagues »

democracynow:

“The verdicts left us all here at Al Jazeera quite stunned,” says Al Jazeera correspondent Sue Turton on Democracy Now! today in an interview about the convictions of three of her colleagues in Egypt on charges of “spreading false news” in favor of terrorism. Turton was among nine journalists sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison during the same trial.

“There was nothing in the evidence that proved that they had done anything other than be straightforward, balanced, fair reporters,” she says. “We won’t let this campaign drop for a second until they are freed.”

Click here to watch her 20-minutes interview live from Doha, Qatar.

gettyimages: “ LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 24: BBC staff and colleagues from other news organisations take part in a one-minute silent protest outside New Broadcasting House against the seven-year jail terms given to three al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt...

gettyimages:

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 24: BBC staff and colleagues from other news organisations take part in a one-minute silent protest outside New Broadcasting House against the seven-year jail terms given to three al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt on June 24, 2014 in London, England. 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. (Photo by Rob Stothard/Getty Images)

Egypt’s Shame

This morning a judge in Egypt convicted journalists Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, Peter Greste, and Baher Mohamed of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood and sentenced them to between seven and 10 years in prison. All three were working for Al-Jazeera when they were arrested six months ago, but have a wide range of professional experience, including stints with CNN, The New York Times, and the BBC. Three other journalists–Al-Jazeera English presenter Sue Turton, Al-Jazeera reporter Dominic Kane, and a correspondent for Dutch Parool newspaper, Rena Netjes–were sentenced to 10 years in absentia.

The verdict comes less than a month after the election of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as Egypt’s new president. Despite widespread concerns about the fairness of the vote, the president clearly hopes the election will legitimatize the current regime and repair international relationships. Indeed, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who passed through Cairo on Sunday on his way to Baghdad, indicated that U.S. military aid to Egypt could soon be restored.

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