Journalist says Canada PM abandoned him during Egypt ordeal

Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy says he felt “betrayed” by Prime Minister Stephen Harper while he sat wrongly accused in an Egyptian jail cell, and that he “intends to vote” in the October 19 election.

Fahmy met with Justin Trudeau on Monday night and tweeted that he and his wife “enjoyed meeting the tireless & inspirational” Liberal leader to “express gratitude for his support”. He said he’d long imagined in prison the moment he would return.

Fahmy’s two-year ordeal raised questions about Egypt’s commitment to free speech and whether Canada’s government did enough for him.

Fahmy was serving as Al Jazeera’s acting bureau chief in Cairo when he was arrested in 2013 along with two colleagues, Australian journalist Peter Greste and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed. The trial was criticized by human rights groups as deeply flawed.

Mohamed Fahmy, a former al-Jazeera journalist who was released last month after receiving a pardon from Egyptian President el-Sisi, said Harper should have intervened more aggressively to get him freed faster. “I felt lots of warmth and love”.

Now, Fahmy wants to start a conversation about how the government will deal with any future cases like his.

Fahmy said Harper’s “hyper conservative approach directly damaged and delayed my chances for freedom”.

Speaking to CTV News Channel directly after the news conference, Fahmy said the government needs to support its citizens overseas “in the most aggressive manner”. He was released almost two years after his arrest.

A senior government official said Harper spoke with Egypt’s president earlier this year and sent several letters on Fahmy’s behalf, including a letter about four or five weeks ago. “Our prime minister delegated his responsibility to people who lacked the clout to really get me out of there”, Fahmy said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Fahmy has said he was not aware that Harper had called Sisi. He said he was grateful but asked, “Why aren’t they transparent about him making a call and taking a stand?” Fahmy accepted a teaching position from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, but it’s not clear when he will begin that new job.

He also lashed out at Harper for his attempt to ban women from wearing the Muslim face-veil during citizenship ceremonies, which has proven pivotal in the election race.

– With files from The Associated Press.