Three Al-Jazeera journalists have been sentenced to three years in jail by judges at a court in Egypt. Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohammed and Peter Greste, were sentenced at a retrial for “spreading false news” and other offences. Fahmy, a Canadian, and Mohammed, an Egyptian, were in court, but Greste, an Australian, has been deported to Australia. Immediately after the ruling, Fahmy’s wife, Marwa, began crying. Others sobbed loudly.
Judge Hassan Farid said he jailed the three in part because they weren’t registered with the country’s journalist syndicate. He explained that the journalists brought equipment without the approval of security officials into Egypt. The three also spread “false news” and used a hotel as a broadcasting point without permission, the judge added.