Egypt’s president pardons Al Jazeera journalists and rights activists

On the eve of his trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi on Wednesday pardoned Al Jazeera journalists convicted of terrorism-related charges, together with scores of secular activists, state media and lawyers reported.

The Al Jazeera case, which has dragged on for nearly two years, has been an international embarrassment to Egypt, with media advocacy groups describing the court proceedings as a sham. Human rights groups also have been vocal in their objections to the jailing of prominent Egyptian activists on charges they described as highly politicized.

The pardons came on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which is traditionally a time for charity and the granting of clemency.

Two journalists for the satellite news channel Al Jazeera English, who had been in prison pending an appeal of their convictions, were given pardons. A third, Australian national Peter Greste, was deported this year. It was not immediately clear whether Greste was among those pardoned Wednesday.

The others pardoned included several well-known Egyptian activists who played roles in the 2011 uprising against President Hosni Mubarak. Among them were Yara Sallah and Sanna Seif, who were imprisoned under a draconian measure that in effect criminalizes street protests, even peaceful ones.

Since taking power in a July 2013 coup, Sisi has relentlessly pursued Islamist opponents, including Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist president he ousted, who has been sentenced to death. No Islamists were among the 100 people for whom pardons were announced Wednesday.

The two jailed Al Jazeera journalists are Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian who renounced his additional Egyptian citizenship in hope of deportation, and producer Baher Mohamed. A tweet from a Twitter account in the name of Fahmy, who had retained high-profile rights lawyer Amal Clooney to represent him, expressed jubilation and thanked supporters.

The two were freed later Wednesday.

The three journalists had been sentenced last month, Greste in absentia, to three years in prison for airing “false reports” and aiding Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, terms that were shortened from the seven- to 10-year sentences handed down in their original trial. The journalists and their Qatar-based employer had denied any wrongdoing.

Supporters of the Al Jazeera journalists insisted throughout their legal ordeal, which began with their arrests in December 2013, that the charges against them were rooted in Egypt’s quarrel with the wealthy Persian Gulf state of Qatar, the news outlet’s owner. Qatar demanded the reinstatement of Morsi and has been a vocal supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, now banned in Egypt.

Hassan is a special correspondent. Times staff writer Laura King in Istanbul, Turkey, contributed to this report.

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