SYDNEY: Hopes are fading for the release of Australian journalist Peter Greste, who has been in jail in Egypt for a year, after Cairo sent mixed signals about his case, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Monday.
Greste, Egyptian-Canadian acting bureau chief Mohammed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed were arrested a year ago Monday in a case that has sent shock waves through the media in Egypt.
The Al-Jazeera reporter is serving seven to 10 years for crimes that include spreading lies to help a “terrorist organization” — an allusion to the Muslim Brotherhood group which is banned in Egypt. Bishop last week raised the possibility Greste could be freed before an appeal hearing set for Jan. 1.
“We had indications that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi would exercise his authority regarding a pardon or a clemency plea in advance of the appeal,” Bishop told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“Yet, in the meantime, the Egyptian foreign minister has said to me that we have to await the appeal, so there are different messages coming from the Egyptian government,” Bishop said.
Greste’s brothers, Mike and Andrew Greste, told reporters in Australia they did not believe their brother would be released before the appeal.
“The Egyptian president has said a few days after he was convicted that he wouldn’t be pardoning Peter until the legal processes have been finalized,” Mike Greste said. Egypt’s Court of Cassation begins hearing their appeal on Thursday. “It’s a very anxious time,” Greste’s mother, Lois, said.
