Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi yesterday said he will not interfere in court rulings, a day after three al-Jazeera journalists were sentenced to seven years in prison in a verdict that prompted an international outcry.
The ruling, on terrorism-related charges, stunned their families and brought a landslide of condemnation and calls for al-Sisi to intervene.
According to Egypt’s constitution, the president has the right to issue a pardon or commute the sentences. US, Australian and other officials have urged al-Sisi to use this right to immediately release the three journalists.
Photo: AFP
Rights groups have described the trial as a politically motivated sham reflecting the tense relations between Egypt and the Qatar-owned station. Qatar has been a strong supporter of Islamists in the region and in particular former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, who was overthrown by the military last summer.
However, sounding a defiant tone, al-Sisi said he had always said he will not interfere in judicial affairs, and would respect the courts’ independence.
He said he called the justice minister late on Monday to repeat that sentiment, despite what he described as debate over the rulings against the journalists.
“I told him one word: We will not interfere in judicial matters because the Egyptian judiciary is an independent and exalted judiciary,” he told a military graduation ceremony in a nationally televised speech.
He also urged people to stop commenting or criticizing court rulings, repeating: “We will not interfere in court verdicts.”
Al-Sisi said to ensure respect for state institutions, there should be no interference in their affairs.
“If we desire [strong] state institutions we must respect court rulings and not comment on them even if others don’t understand these rulings,” he said.
Al-Sisi’s comments came at the end of a speech mostly devoted to economic affairs.
Prosecutors had accused the three — Australian Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohammed — of promoting or belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood and of falsifying their coverage of protests by his supporters to hurt Egypt’s security and make it appear the country was sliding into civil war.
Greste and Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fadel Fahmy each received seven-year terms, while Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed received two sentences: seven years like his codefendents and one of three years for having ammunition.
Eleven defendants tried in absentia, including one Dutch journalist and two Britons, were handed 10-year jail terms, also on charges of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood and “spreading false news.”
Greste’s elderly parents, who had been hoping for an acquittal, said they were “shattered” by the decision but vowed to battle on for the sake of press freedom.
Additional reporting by AFP
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