Al Jazeera TV journalist Mohamed Fahmy received a presidential pardon on Wednesday, according to security sources.
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Al Jazeera television journalists Mohamed Fahmy, C, and Baher Mohamed, L, talk to the media with lawyer Amal Clooney (R) before hearing the verdict at a court in Cairo, Egypt, August 29, 2015.
Fahmy was handed a three-year prison sentence last month for broadcasting what a court described as “false news” and biased coverage.
Fahmy, who was imprisoned on widely-denounced terror charges, has been pardoned by the country’s president.
– with files from the Associated Press.
The pardon also comes a day before el-Sissi is to travel to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
The pardons, which coincide with the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha, also include activists who had been arrested for violating the protest law, including Sanaa Seif, Yarra Sallam, Hany Al Gamal and others.
The fate of the third defendant, Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed, remains in question: As of 8:30 a.m. ET, NPR has confirmed only the pardon of Fahmy.
Earlier today, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promised that the Australian government would continue to push Egypt to pardon Greste and his colleagues.
“I was sure the president was going to issue such a decision”, Khaled Abu Bakr said. “Mohammed is a professional and innocent journalist”, Abu Bakr told AP.
The three men initially were convicted on June 23, 2014, with Greste and Fahmy sentenced to seven years in prison and Mohammed to 10 years for also being found with a spent bullet casing.
“Canada is pleased that Egyptian President el-Sisi has granted Mr. Fahmy a pardon”, said a spokeswoman with the department of foreign affairs.
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Fahmy gave up his Egyptian citizenship while behind bars in the hopes that he could follow the same path, but that didn’t happen. Sallam was arrested a year ago along with other activists accused of violating the protest law. Their sentence was reduced to two years in December.
