- Egyptian court sentenced imprisonment to 3 of the 20 Al-Jazeera journalist accused of helping blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood and spreading false news to damage the reputation of Egypt after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsy.
- 11 defendant tried in absentia were sentenced to 10 yrs imprisonment, while of the 6 in custody, 4 were sentenced and 2 acquitted.
- They alleged them to be backed by Qatar as they believe Qatar to be assisting Morsy’s Brotherhood.
- Jazeera maintains that only 9 of the defendants belong to their staff. Many of them are alleged to be belonging to the Brotherhood, which is designated as a terrorist organization.
- The international community has denounced the ruling as appalling and unjust, calling it a dark day for free media, as there was no concrete evidence against them.
- US called upon the Egyptian President to pardon the 3 or commute their sentence. Australia and Qatar \denounced the sentence, while in Hague and London, Egyptian ambassadors were summoned.
- However sources say that the President cannot legally commute their sentence as a pardon can only be given after the final court ruling.
- Read athttp://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/jail-for-three-jazeera-journalists/article6143392.ece
- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/a-dark-day-for-media-freedom-in-egypt/article6143396.ece
Exams Perspective:
- Democracy in Egypt
- Arab Spring