CAIRO, Aug. 29 (UPI) — Three Al Jazeera journalists were sentenced to three years in prison after being retried and found guilty Saturday of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.
Canadian national Mohamed Fahmy, Egyptian Baher Mohamed and Australian Peter Greste were convicted of “spreading false news” and aiding the banned Muslim Brotherhood group. Fahmy was also sentenced to an additional six months for possessing a used bullet casing. The men have long denied the allegations.
Al Jazeera Media Network’s acting director general, Mostefa Souag, condemned the conviction, saying “today’s verdict defies logic and common sense.”
The three men were arrested in December 2013 and convicted last year. After appeal, they were granted a retrial and released. Greste returned to Australia and Mohamed and Fahmy had been free on bail in Egypt. Officials said they will seek to extradite Greste.
