Egypt court to hear journalists' appeal

The Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest court of appeal is expected to hear the case of the three Al Jazeera journalists on Thursday.

Australian Peter Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed, who work with Al-Jazeera's English service, were arrested last December for allegedly spreading false information aiding the Muslim Brotherhood after the army ousted President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The Muslim Brotherhood has been banned in Egypt since then as a terrorist organization.

Authorities said that the three journalists lacked proper accreditation. Greste and Fahmy were jailed for seven years while Mohamed was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

"The court of Cassation could order a retrial, issue a new verdict or acquit the defendants," journalist Mohamed Fahmy's lawyer Negad al Borai told news agency AFP. There was a possibility of the three being freed on bail in case a retrial was ordered, al Borai said.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi has also said he would prefer the journalists to be deported rather than tried.

The verdict invited severe criticism from the international press and human rights groups, although the Egyptian government defended the ruling saying they were pronounced by an independent judiciary.

A thaw in frosty relations between Qatar, which owns the Al Jazeera network, and Egypt also raised hopes of a resolution of the issue. Doha is believed to be a staunch backer of Muhammed Morsi's government and the Muslim Brotherhood and a critic of the army's takeover of power in 2013.

mg/bk (AFP, dpa)