Egypt state TV: 2nd Al Jazeera journalist also pardoned
A combination picture made on Sept. 23 shows Al-Jazeera's Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed (R) and Al-Jazeera's Egyptian-Canadian reporter Mohamed Fahmy. (Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images) (Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images)
CAIRO — Egyptian state TV says that the country’s president has also pardoned Baher Mohammed, an Egyptian journalist for Al-Jazeera English.
Mohammed was sentenced along with Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy to three years in prison last month for airing what a court described as “false news” and biased coverage.
The two were pardoned and were expected to be released on Wednesday. The state-run MENA news agency said a third person from the case — which included multiple other defendants along with Australian journalist Peter Greste — was also pardoned but was not identified by name.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
A lawyer and Egypt’s state-run news agency say President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has pardoned a Canadian journalist for Al-Jazeera English, Mohamed Fahmy, along with prominent human rights activists.
The news agency MENA says el-Sissi has ordered those pardoned be released on Wednesday.
Lawyer Khaled Abu Bakr confirmed the pardon and says his client is a “professional and innocent journalist.”
Fahmy was sentenced to three years in prison last month for airing what a court described as “false news” and biased coverage. His colleague Baher Mohammed was also sentenced in the case. It wasn’t immediately clear if Mohammed was also pardoned.
Prominent activists Yara Sallam and Sanaa Seif are among those pardoned, according to MENA.
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