| Egypt's top court has cancelled jail sentences against three Al Jazeera journalists who have been in prison for more than a year, and ordered a retrial, the defence lawyer has said. Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were denied bail at an appeal hearing on Thursday as the court said the case had to go back to the criminal court. "The Court of Cassation has accepted their appeal and ordered a retrial," Greste's defence lawyer Amr Al-Deeb said after a hearing lasting just 30 minutes. The trio have been imprisoned in Egypt for 369 days, after being falsely accused and then found guilty of aiding the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in prison, while Mohamed received an additional three years for having a spent bullet in his possession, which he had picked up at a protest site. The journalists have repeatedly said that they were being punished for just doing their jobs. The judge who sentenced the journalists released his reasoning in July, saying they were brought together "by the devil" to destabilise the country. Al Jazeera has called the accusations against its three journalists absurd and has demanded their release. |
Source:
Al Jazeera
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