CAIRO: An Egyptian court sentenced three Al Jazeera reporters to three years in prison on Saturday, in a shock ruling that sparked international condemnation.

Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed were in court for the verdict, while Australian journalist Peter Greste was tried in absentia after being deported early this year.

The court said they had broadcast “false” news that harmed Egypt. Several co-defendants, accused of working with Al Jazeera, received similar sentences.

Canada called for the “immediate return” of Fahmy, while Qatar-based Al-Jazeera denounced the verdict as an “attack on press freedom”.

“It’s a dark day for the Egyptian judiciary,” Giles Trendle, the English channel’s acting managing director, told reporters in Doha.

“Rather than defend liberty and the free and fair media, the Egyptian judiciary has compromised its own independence. “The retrial was ordered early this year after an appeals court overturned an initial sentence of seven years in prison, saying the prosecution had presented scant evidence.Fahmy’s lawyer, London-based Amal Clooney, told reporters she would press the presidency for a pardon.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2015

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