An Egyptian court that jailed three al-Jazeera journalists for alleged ties with Islamists said on Tuesday that “the devil guided” the group to spread false news defaming the country.
Australian journalist Peter Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed were convicted in June of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood and spreading false news that portrayed Egypt as being in a state of “civil war”.
Greste and Fahmy received seven-year terms, while Mohamed was jailed for 10 years, in a case that sparked international outrage.
Eleven defendants tried in absentia, including one Dutch and two British journalists, were given 10-year sentences.
“The defendants took advantage of the noble profession of journalism … and turned it from a profession aimed at looking for the truth to a profession aimed at falsifying the truth,” the court said in a statement explaining its verdict.
“The devil guided them to use journalism and direct it toward activities against this nation,” it said…
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