FIGHTING THE MEDIA!
Egyptian Govt Declares War on Al-Jazeera Journalists…Demands 15Years’ Jail Term for the Press for Reporting the Truth
*Three Al-Jazeera Journalists have been detained in Egypt since Dec.29, 2013
*Fourth Journalist detained without charge for 10 Months
*Egyptian Govt claims Hoax National Security alibi *Trial adjourns till 16 June 2014
* “This is not a trial for these defendants alone – this is a trial of all Journalists”–Defence Lawyer
BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, NEW YORK
EGYPTIAN Government have taken laws into their hands by detaining journalists working with Al-Jazeera for dutifully and ethically reporting news in contradiction of the global ‘Freedom of Expression and the Press’ as enshrined in United Nations charter. It is seeing in the International Community as a declaration of war on the media, which no administration had ever won in the world history.
Sadly, Egyptian prosecutors, obviously doing the bidding of their government are now asking their ‘kangaroo court’ for 15 years jail term for these media professionals, whose ‘offense’ is just reporting news as it without fear of favor.
Al-Jazeera Journalists detained since Dec. 29 without trial
Defence lawyers for Peter Greste, Baher Mohammed and Mohammed Fahmy made strong final arguments in court few days ago. The three Al Jazeera English journalists have beendetained in Egypt since 29 December 2013. In remarks which drew applause in the court room, one of the lawyers concluded by saying: “This is not a trial for these defendants alone – this is a trial of all journalists.” The defence reminded the court that the members of the technical committee who had evaluated the evidence could not recall a single example of what they believed was fabricated coverage from the Al Jazeera team. They also could not pinpoint anything that endangered national security.
Al Jazeera spokesperson Osama Saeed said, “Today’s summation by the defence shows again the weaknesses of the arguments made by the prosecution. The world knows thatthe three Al Jazeera staff who have been jailed were just doing their jobs. The defence has articulated that the entire trial is a trial of all journalists who believe in honest reporting and integrity, and not just a trial of the Al Jazeera three. On the balance of arguments, It’s abundantly clear that Peter, Baher and Mohammed are not guilty of anything, and they should be set free.”
Previous court dates have bizarrely included the prosecution showing footage of SkyNews Arabia tourism reports, BBC podcasts, songs by Gotye, photo shopped images ofFahmy, Greste’s family photos, and some of Greste’s award-winning work from EastAfrica. The trial has been adjourned until 16 June 2014.
Fourth Journalists detained without Trial for 10 Months
The fourth detained Al Jazeera journalist, Abdullah Elshamy, is held separately. Adecision was to be taken few days about renewing his detention for another 45 days, butthis was postponed by the court till 11 June 2014. He has been detained withoutcharge for nearly ten months.
