Thursday, July 30, 2015

Egypt court 'adjourns Al Jazeera trial for ninth time'


Egyptian court is reported to have adjourned the long-running retrial of three Al Jazeera journalists for the ninth time.
Australian Peter Greste, Egyptian Baher Mohamed, and Canadian Mohamed Fahmy were found guilty in June 2014 of aiding a terrorist organisation, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, which was outlawed in Egypt after the army overthrew President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Greste and Fahmy received seven years, while Mohamed was given 10 years.
In January, an appeals court ordered a retrial, saying the initial verdict lacked evidence against the three journalists working for the Doha-based network's English channel.
The journalists and Al Jazeera have vigorously denied the accusations.
Global support
Greste has already been deported to his native Australia under a law allowing the transfer of foreigners on trial to their home countries but he is still being retried in absentia.
Fahmy and Mohamed had been on bail ahead of the retrial after spending more than 400 days in detention.
Fahmy renounced his Egyptian nationality hoping he too would be deported like Greste.
The three men have received support from governments, media organisations and rights groups from around the world.
The European People's Party (EPP) issued a letter of support earlier this month signed by members of the European Parliament from across the political spectrum and countries.

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