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Verdict in journalists' trial in Egypt postponed

Another court session was scheduled for next week.

By Ed Adamczyk
Journalist Mohamed Fahmy stand behind caged bars a court in Cairo, Egypt on June 23, 2014. Photo courtesy of UPI/Karem Ahmed
Journalist Mohamed Fahmy stand behind caged bars a court in Cairo, Egypt on June 23, 2014. Photo courtesy of UPI/Karem Ahmed | License Photo

CAIRO, July 30 (UPI) -- An Egyptian court postponed the announcement of the verdict in the trial of three journalists accused of supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Another session of the Cairo court is expected next week in the trial of Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste, journalists of the Dubai-based Al-Jazeera satellite news network, which said it was "extremely angry" over the delay. The three men and the network contend the journalists were simply doing their jobs when they were arrested in 2013; they were convicted, Reste and Fahmy sentenced to seven years imprisonment and Mohamed to 10 years. A new trial was authorized by an appeals court in January 2015, but proceedings were delayed.

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Greste, an Australian, was freed in February. Mohamed, an Egyptian, and Fahmy, a Canadian-Egyptian, were freed on bail and remain in Egypt.

The government of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has cracked down on opposition groups, notably the Muslim Brotherhood, since it came to power in 2013.

"Despite widespread criticism of the Al-Jazeera case, Egyptian authorities continue to try to suppress the flow of information by pressuring, harassing, and jailing journalists working for a range of news outlets," said Sherif Mansour of the Committee to Protect Journalists, a global activist group which has loudly criticized the legal process against the three men. The organization claims at least 18 journalists are currently in Egyptian jails.

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