Two Al Jazeera journalists walk free after Sisi pardon

9/24/2015 2:43:25 AM

(MENAFN- The Peninsula)Mohamad Fahmy (right) with wife Marwa Omara and Baher Mohamad and wife Jihan after their release from Tora prison in Cairo yesterday.

Cairo: Two Al Jazeera journalists walked free after being pardoned yesterday along with scores of others by Egypt’s president following criticism of his government for jailing opponents.

The release of Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and colleague Baher Mohamed was welcomed by their supporters with Al Jazeera saying it was “delighted”.

The 100 prisoners pardoned by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi included women activists Sana Seif and Yara Sallam the president’s office said in a goodwill gesture on the eve of Eid Al Adha. The move came a day before Sisi is due to head to New York to deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly.

Within hours of the announcement Fahmy and Mohamed were dropped off by authorities in the upmarket Cairo suburb of Maadi in their blue prison uniforms. They said that they were looking forward to being reunited with their families.

“I’m feeling ecstatic knowing that I don’t have to worry about lawyers police officers following me all over the place and knowing that I’m going to share my apartment tonight with my beloved wife” said Fahmy.

“Now we’re free me and (my wife) Marwa are going to celebrate. We’re going to go back to Canada and travel and... get on with our lives.”

Mohamed said: “We’re very very happy. But we’re a bit surprised about how it was done. “I can live a normal life with my family with my children. The whole nightmare is over finally. Thank God.” Australian reporter and Al-Jazeera colleague Peter Greste was also convicted but was deported by presidential decree in February after 400 days in jail.

An award-winning former BBC reporter Greste said he was “overjoyed” by their release. “President Sisi has taken a very important step in restoring confidence in the system but it is only a partial step” he said.

Al Jazeera said it was “delighted” by their release but added “this whole episode should not have happened in the first place”. It was not immediately clear if Greste was included in the pardon and the pan-Arab network is still demanding all charges and sentences against its journalists be dropped. Fahmy had dropped his Egyptian citizenship to qualify for deportation like Greste. His wife Marwa Omran said that after his release “he wants to pursue getting his nationality back”.

Canada welcomed the pardon. “We look forward to Fahmy reuniting with his family and loved ones and his return to Canada” the government said. Clooney said she was also “delighted”. “This is a historic day in Egypt where the government has finally corrected a longstanding injustice and set two innocent men free” she said. AFP

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.