WATCH ABOVE: Egyptian government announces retrial for imprisoned Canadian journalist. Jennifer Tryon reports.
Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy is set to be re-tried on terrorism-related charges in Cairo later this month, a development his family called their “worst nightmare.”
Fahmy – who has spent more than a year in an Egyptian prison – was expected to be set free after former Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said just days ago that his release was “imminent.”
But Fahmy’s family said Sunday that the 40-year-old journalist and his Egyptian colleague will now be re-tried on Feb. 12.
READ MORE: Timeline: Egypt’s jailing of 3 Al-Jazeera English journalists
“We’re horrified, very angry because we heard the news of a retrial at the prosecutors office trying to figure out why my brother has not been deported yet,” Fahmy brother, Adel Fahmy told Global News.
Fahmy and two colleagues – Australian Peter Greste and Egyptian Baher Mohamed – were arrested on Dec. 29, 2013, and accused of supporting the banned Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group of ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi. They were also charged with fabricating footage to undermine Egypt’s national security.
Trial internationally criticized
The trio denied all the allegations against them but after a trial that was internationally criticized, Fahmy and Greste were sentenced to seven years in prison, while Mohamed was sentenced to 10 years.
An appeal in January allowed their case to be re-tried, but a date had not been set and Fahmy’s family had hoped diplomatic efforts would secure the journalist’s release before the case went to court again.
Greste was then freed last Sunday under new legislation that allows Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to deport foreigners convicted or accused of crimes.
Fahmy – who had dual Egyptian-Canadian citizenship – had relinquished his Egyptian citizenship with the hope of being released under the same legislation.
The announcement of the retrial date dealt a blow to his family, who said Fahmy gave up his Egyptian citizenship because authorities had suggested the move was a condition for his release.
“We’re very surprised that the prime minister of Canada has not intervened,” Adel Fahmy told Global News. “Especially after Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, our lawyer, Amal Clooney, have asked him to make that phone call.”
“Our strategy is we’re not depending on the Canadian government whatsoever … We believe that they have been handling the situation in a manner that is not appropriate or aggressive considering the whole world knows my brother is innocent.”
Lynne Yelich , minister of state for foreign affairs and consular affairs, said the Canadian government continued to raise Fahmy’s case “at the highest levels.”
“Canada is deeply concerned with the announcement that a re-trial date has been set despite assurances that Mr. Fahmy would be released,” Yelich said in a statement.
“Canada calls for the immediate release of Mr. Fahmy.”
READ MORE: Amal Clooney wants to meet Egyptian president, press for Mohamed Fahmy release
Fahmy moved to Canada with his family in 1991, living in Montreal and Vancouver for years before eventually moving abroad for work, which included covering stories for the New York Times and CNN.
He took over as acting bureau chief of Al Jazeera’s English-language channel in Cairo in September 2013.
— With files from Global News
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