Undated photos released by Al-Jazeera's office in Cairo show (from L to
R) one of its producers Baher Mohamed, award-winning Australian
journalist Peter Greste and its Cairo bureau chief, Canadian-Egyptian
Mohammed Fahmy. PHOTOS | AL JAZEERA | FILE
AFP
We join the rest of the global media fraternity in expressing shock and outrage at the jailing of three journalists in Egypt.
We
firmly believe Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed of the Al
Jazeera network were convicted and jailed on Monday merely for being
conscientious journalists and not for aiding the Muslim Brotherhood,
spreading false news and endangering national security, as alleged.
The
conviction on what appears to be extremely tenuous evidence and
imposition of harsh jail terms of between seven and 10 years has cast
Egypt in very unfavourable light.
With the eyes of the
world now focused on Egypt, we note with tremendous respect President
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s assertion that he will not interfere with a
decision of the courts.
However, he should look beyond
the conviction, and consider the wider issue of his country’s standing
as a respected member of the global community.
Egypt is
an ancient civilisation that stands tall in the community of nations.
Within a volatile region noted for dictatorship, feudalism, intolerance
and religious extremism, Egypt has for millennia stood out as a beacon
of light, melding the ancient with the modern to create a unique modern
society.
President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has it within
his powers to exercise his prerogative of mercy and grant clemency to
the jailed journalists.
Such a gesture would go a long
way towards righting a grievous wrong and restoring Egypt’s standing as a
nation that respects and defends human rights, media freedom and the
rule of law.
A show of magnanimity would be good, not
just for the journalists, but also for Egypt which needs to be shorn of
unnecessary distractions when it has so many challenges to confront.
No comments:
Post a Comment