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Egypt court orders retrial of jailed Jazeera reporters
JournalismPakistan.com | Published: 1 January 2015
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Egypt's highest court has ordered a retrial for Al-Jazeera journalists imprisoned on terrorism-related charges. The decision comes as diplomatic relations between Egypt and Qatar improve.Summary
CAIRO: Egypt's top court Thursday ordered a retrial of three Al-Jazeera reporters whose imprisonment on charges of aiding the Muslim Brotherhood triggered global outrage, but kept them in custody pending a new hearing.
Australian Peter Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed of the broadcaster's English service were detained in December 2013 for spreading false information.
Greste and Fahmy each got seven years, and Mohamed was jailed for 10.
"The Court of Cassation has accepted their appeal and ordered a retrial," Greste's defence lawyer Amr Al-Deeb said Thursday.
The defendants were not at the hearing, which lasted just 30 minutes.
Hopes for the journalists' release have grown following a thaw in diplomatic relations between Cairo and Qatar, where their employer is based.
"I hope the reconciliation efforts between Egypt and Qatar continue for the sake of my brother and his colleagues ... who are paying the price of a political crisis," Fahmy's brother Adel told reporters.
Both the defence and the prosecution had requested a retrial. - AFP
Key Points
- Retrial ordered by Egypt's Court of Cassation
- Three reporters jailed since December 2013
- Greste and Fahmy sentenced to seven years, Mohamed to ten
- Defendants were absent during the brief hearing
- Increased hopes for release amid improving Egypt-Qatar relations
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