LTV airs 'Ordeal in Cairo'

Take note – story published 9 years ago

On Wednesday Latvian Public Television (LTV) broadcast the premiere of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) documentary film “Ordeal in Cairo”, about jailed Al Jazeera journalists Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed.

 

There has been international outrage at the harsh sentence given to the Al Jazeera trio. With access to key players in the battle between Egypt and the powerful broadcaster, this ABC feature offers a critical analysis of the story, says the film's distribution company Journeyman Pictures.

"We have lost our lives these past six months. The whole family has", explains Peter Greste's mother Lois. Their son's trial in the Egyptian courts has seen him charged with "fabricating news" and "aiding and abetting a terrorist organisation". After only two months' work for Al Jazeera, Canadian-Egyptian journalist, Mohamed Fahmy, found himself incarcerated too. Greste's lawyer quit before the verdict, claiming Al Jazeera had made major mistakes while defending their employees – such as sending them to Egypt without accreditation, and filing a separate lawsuit for $150 million in damages alongside the trio's case. Pawns in a major diplomatic rift between Qatar and Egypt, and victims of Al Sisi's repressive crackdown on free speech, for the journalists the outlook is bleak. "There is no hope in Egypt's judicial system", says Fahmy's fiancee.

The video is available for viewing at the following LTV website link.

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