Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, right, and Baher Mohamed on trial in Cairo last year. Credit Khaled Desouki/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
CAIRO — An Egyptian court on Thursday ordered the release of two journalists jailed here for more than a year on charges of broadcasting false news in a conspiracy with the Muslim Brotherhood, evidently moving to end a downpour of international criticism over the case.
The release followed the publication earlier this week of a previously undisclosed opinion by Egypt’s highest appeals court condemning the journalists’ conviction as baseless when it ordered a retrial. The release also comes at a time when the Egyptian government appears to be attempting to remedy some of the international criticism it has received after a series of harsh criminal convictions issued during a crackdown on dissent after the military takeover about 18 months ago.
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Both journalists, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, were working for the English-language network of the Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera when they were arrested at the end of 2013. After hearing brief statements, the judge ordered Mr. Fahmy released on bail of $33,000; Mr. Mohamed and the other defendants had only to provide their addresses.
A third journalist arrested with them, Peter Greste, an Australian, was released about two weeks ago under a presidential decree allowing the deportation of foreigners convicted of crimes here.
All three were accused of broadcasting false reports of unrest in Egypt as part of a conspiracy with the Muslim Brotherhood to destabilize Egypt, although prosecutors never publicly disclosed any evidence of either collaboration with the Brotherhood or of inaccurate reporting. A group of Islamist student protesters were arrested and tried in the same case, on charges that they were part of the scheme.
After Mr. Greste was deported, Egyptian officials speaking on condition of anonymity said that Mr. Fahmy, an Egyptian Canadian, would soon be released the same way. Mr. Fahmy has said that he renounced his Egyptian citizenship because the authorities told him it was a condition of his deportation. But in the end, the plan to deport Mr. Fahmy did not happen.
The courtroom was packed with journalists and erupted in applause.
“I am going home immediately to tell the children, ‘Dad is coming home and he will bring you all sorts of presents,’†said Jehan Rashed, the wife of Mr. Mohamed. Being in jail had prevented Mr. Mohamed from meeting the youngest of their the couple’s three sons, Haroun, born last August.
“First thing I will do is go to Hazem and Fairouz and say Daddy is coming tomorrow and we must go and buy new clothes and nice things,†Ms. Rashed said, breaking down into tears as she referred to the couple’s other children. “I’ve spent a year in terrible sadness.â€
Nine other Egyptian journalists remain in prison, according to a recent count by the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit group based in New York. Egyptian rights groups, using a looser definition, say they count dozens more.
The Egyptian government has made clear it feels stung by the international criticism of the harsh verdicts its courts have handed down in a long series of politicized cases. After another appeals court ruling this week ordered the retrial of 36 people who had been sentenced to death in a speedy mass trial — one of several such mass death sentences issued last year — the Egyptian Foreign Ministry sent an unusual appeal to foreign journalists imploring them to report the decision.
“In the interest of fairness and journalistic professionalism, all of the newspapers and agencies that published screaming headlines regarding the initial verdicts are also obligated to publish headlines of their nullification,†the ministry wrote, arguing that “failure to do so would raise serious questions regarding the impartiality and professionalism of these media entities.â€
Analysts here have said the release of the Al Jazeera journalists may also reflect efforts to heal the hostile relations between Egypt and Qatar, which owns Al Jazeera.
Many Egyptian analysts said they saw the arrests as a retaliatory blow in a larger feud between the two countries. Qatar cultivated relations with former President Mohamed Morsi, and after his ouster, Al Jazeera was the only major Arabic language news outlet in Egypt that was critical of the new military-backed government led by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Al Jazeera’s local channel, Egypt Live, was a particular thorn in the side of the Egyptian government because it was virtually the only news outlet that covered the scattered antigovernment protests by Mr. Morsi’s Islamist supporters. Those protests are still taking place. Al Jazeera was the only network that made them visible to other Egyptians, and critics said it often exaggerated their size as well.
But in December, Saudi Arabia brokered a reconciliation meeting between Egypt and Qatar in an attempt to heal the regional rift. Qatar agreed to close down its Egyptian outlet while Egypt reportedly agreed to stop encouraging its pro-government news media to attack Qatar. Immediately after that agreement was reached, Diaa Rashwan, the chairman of the Egyptian journalists syndicate and an analyst close to the government, predicted that the Al Jazeera’s journalists would soon be released.
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