El-Sissi backs Al Jazeera ruling

A day after a controversial court ruling involving foreign journalists, Egypt's new president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, hit back at critics of the court's decision.

"We must respect judicial rulings and not criticize them even if others do not understand this," el-Sissi said on Tuesday during a nationally televised speech from a military graduation ceremony.

"We will not interfere in court verdicts," he added.

The previous day, a Cairo court handed down seven-year prison sentences to Australian Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian national Mohammed Fahmy and Al Jazeera International's Cairo bureau chief, Baher Mohammed. They had been arrested in December while they were reporting on the downfall of former President Mohammed Morsi. They were subsequently found guilty of false reporting and collaborating with members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Mohammed, who worked as the Egyptian producer, received an additional three years, for "possession of ammunition," according to Al Jazeera on Monday.

The move prompted immediate responses from the Australian and US governments, who called for the journalists' release. Meanwhile, several European Union nations, including the UK and the Netherlands said they would summon Egypt's respective ambassadors to their countries over the incident.

Australia treads lightly

The Australian government has been the most vocal about the Monday ruling, which saw its own citizen, Peter Greste, held under circumstances its foreign minister has described as politically motivated.

However, Australia's prime minister, Tony Abbott, chose his words carefully on Tuesday when speaking to reporters in Canberra, emphasizing that a hardline approach might worsen the legal situation for the three journalists.

"The Australian government will continue to make intercessions at every level with the Egyptian government and elsewhere to try to ensure that Peter Greste and his colleagues are swiftly released," Abbott said.

"I do understand that once the court system has done its work, there are options for presidential acts - presidential clemency, presidential pardons and so on - and that's why I'm not in the business of being critical of the government as such," Abbott said.

Al Jazeera continues to deny the validity of the case. Its English managing director, Al Anstey, said the court's decision lacked "logic, sense, and any semblance of justice," in an article published on the news broadcaster's website.

In solidarity with its Al Jazeera colleagues, hundreds of journalists in London held a one-minute silent protest outside of the BBC New Broadcasting House on Tuesday morning.

kms/pfd (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)