Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed appeared in court on terror charges in 2014. (AP Photo)
Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, two journalists for Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV, were among 100 prisoners pardoned Wednesday by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the president of Egypt.
The reprieve comes after a long-fought legal battle for Fahmy and Mohamed, two journalists who were arrested in December 2013 on charges of spreading falsehoods along with their colleague, Peter Greste. In June, an Egyptian Court sentenced the trio to three years in prison for “broadcasting false news.”
In gaining their freedom, Fahmy and Mohamed join Greste, an Australian national who was released in February after applying for deportation.
The arrests of Fahmy, Mohamed and Greste sparked a global protest among journalists, who rallied around the hashtag #freeajstaff. After 100 days, Al Jazeera renewed the call for the release of its reporters, but their imprisonment has ultimately stretched for more than 400 days.
Upon hearing word of their pardon, journalists and others took to social media to celebrate Mohamed and Fahmy’s impending release:
@KamahlAJE @shihab_rattansi Finally! Wonderful news.
And now, you collegial and steadfast guys can change your avatars. #FreeAJStaff
— Evakatrina (@evakatrina) September 23, 2015
Common sense prevails in #Egypt as Sisi pardons two of the three @AJEnglish journalists arrested in 2013 #freeajstaff
— Tom Murphy (@tklmau) September 23, 2015
This is awesome! #FreeAJstaff free.
https://t.co/5yOiqblHYU
— Thomas Moore (@SurfTasmania) September 23, 2015
