Lawyer says Egypt pardons Canadian journalist for Al-Jazeera

Human Rights Watch has condemned new anti-terrorism laws which make it illegal to contradict official accounts of terrorist activity, and the Committee to Protect Journalists released a report in June saying that the number of journalists in prison in Egypt is at an all-time high.

The Australian journalist’s fellow Al Jazeera reporters Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed have been pardoned and freed from prison in Egypt.

They told an AFP correspondent on the spot that they were looking forward to being reunited with their families.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has arranged to meet with her Egyptian counterpart to discuss a pardon for journalist Peter Greste.

“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.

“Our families have suffered so much since the beginning of this trial, and we’re very happy that el-Sissi took this action and released us”. “But we’re a bit surprised about how it was done”.

“We urge the Egyptian authorities to quash their cases and let them too get on with their lives”, Al-Jazeera said, regretting the almost two years that Fahmy, Mohamed and Greste had to spend jailed despite being “guilty of nothing except journalism”. Since the 2013 military overthrow of former President Mohammed Morsi, hundreds of his supporters have been killed in clashes with security forces and thousands were detained, including nearly the entire leadership of his group, the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The journalists were released as part of a presidential pardon on Wednesday ahead of the Islamic holiday of Eid-al-Ahda.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived in New York on Thursday to participate in the 70 session of the United Nations General Assembly. Dozens of activists were also released.