Egyptian President Pardons Two Al Jazeera Journalists for Eid al-Adha

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has pardoned two Canadian
Al Jazeera journalists, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, as part of 100 pardons
granted as part of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Fahmy, Mohamed and Australian Peter Greste were sentenced
to three years in prison in August for charges that they were operating without
a press license, spreading rumors about the government and supporting the
outlawed organization Muslim Brotherhood. Greste was deported earlier this year.

Al Jazeera America reported that el-Sisi announced on his
Facebook page on Wednesday that he would release “100 young people trapped
in issues related to the breach of the law on demonstrations and some
humanitarian and health cases.”

Read the Al Jazeera story >>

The 100 pardons included dozens of activists accused of
violating laws against public protest. The New York Times reported that
relatives of the journalists did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.

Read the New York Times story >>

Press freedom advocates welcomed the pardons, but pressured
the Egyptian government to release other journalists held because of their
work.

“We are heartened by the news that Mohamed Fadel
Fahmy and Baher Mohamed will be freed after almost 21 months of politicized
trials,” said Sherif Mansour, the Middle East and North Africa program
coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, in a release. “But this is just a first step. Egypt can begin
tackling its shameful record of press freedom by releasing all journalists
imprisoned for their work in the country.”

CPJ reported that Egypt has jailed at least 18 other
journalists for doing their jobs.