CAIRO // President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has issued a decree allowing him to repatriate foreign prisoners in Egypt – a move that could enable the release of journalists currently serving jail terms.
Three Al Jazeera journalists – Australian reporter Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian acting bureau chief Mohammed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed – were convicted on terrorism charges and for broadcasting false news in June.
Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in prison, while Mohammed received a 10-year sentence.
They were detained in December and convicted six months later of spreading lies to help a "terrorist organisation" – alluding to the Muslim Brotherhood outlawed after the army toppled Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
The Doha-based television network said the accusations against the journalists were absurd. Western governments and human rights groups have condemned the case, with the United Nations questioning Egypt’s reputation and the independence of its judiciary.
“The president issued a law on Wednesday allowing [him] to agree to surrender and transport non-Egyptian convicts and suspects to their countries to be tried or have their punishment implemented,” the official news agency Mena said.
“This decision comes in the framework of upholding the nation’s interests and preserving Egypt’s international image...” said presidential spokesman Alaa Yousef.
The report did not mention the Al Jazeera journalists.
Mr El Sisi said in July that he wished the imprisoned Al Jazeera journalists had been deported and not put on trial.
He initially reacted to their sentencing by saying he would not interfere in court verdicts, but his subsequent comments suggested he might use his presidential power to pardon the journalists, who have an appeals hearing set for January 1.
Qatar, which funds Al Jazeera, supports the Brotherhood.
Its relations with Egypt have been strained since Mr Morsi was removed following mass protests against his troubled one-year rule.
Mr El Sisi proceeded to crack down hard on Mr Morsi’s supporters in a campaign that has expanded to include secular and liberal activists, including some of the leading members of the 2011 popular uprising that ousted veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
* Reuters, with additional reporting from Associated Press
