Mohamed Fahmy is anxiously awaiting his “last chance” to avoid being sent back to an Egyptian prison and says he needs the Canadian government’s “clout.”
The sentencing in the retrial of the former Cairo bureau chief for Al Jazeera English is set for July 30. Not only is he nervous about being convicted again, he’s concerned that he may not get the Canadian government support he needs to secure deportation under a recent decree that allows the president to deport foreigners facing charges.
“Direct engagement… is very, very important now so that I can be deported, just the same way as the United States was able to secure the deportation of Mohamed Soltan and Australia did with Peter Greste (Fahmy’s Australian Al Jazeera colleague),” he told Global News from Cairo.
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Fahmy is getting support from some Members of Parliament, but he needs Foreign Minister Rob Nicholson and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to publicly call for his release.
NDP MP and Foreign Affairs critic Paul Dewar believes the Conservative government is not doing enough to help.
In a letter obtained by Global News, Dewar questioned what plans the government had in place to help Fahmy return to Canada at the end of the retrial.
He also criticized the Conservatives for not taking the same strong stance the U.S. and Australian governments did to secure their citizens’ release.
“I continue to be disappointed in your government’s failure to publicly defend Mr. Fahmy against these charges,” Dewar wrote in a letter to Nicholson last month. “I believe that the Government of Canada has a responsibility to advocate on behalf of Canadian citizens abroad.”
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According to Dewar’s spokesperson, Marie-Christine Fiset, Nicholson has not responded to the letter.
Global News reached out to the Department of Foreign Affairs for comment.
The office of Lynne Yelich, the minister responsible for consular services, responded to say the Canadian government is advocating on Fahmy’s behalf.
“The Canadian Government including the Prime Minister and Minister Yelich have been raising this case with Egyptian officials at the highest level for some time, and will continue to do so,” an email statement to Global News read.
“Canada calls on the Egyptian government to use all tools at their disposal to allow for the resolution of Mr. Fahmy’s case and allow for his immediate return to Canada. Canada continues to advocate for the same treatment of Mr. Fahmy as other foreign nationals have received.”
Fahmy, Greste and their Egyptian colleague Baher Mohamed were arrested on Dec. 29, 2013, accused and later convicted of supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and of airing fabricated footage — charges that were widely denounced as bogus. The trio was sentenced in June 2014: Fahmy and Greste to seven years in prison, Mohamed to 10 years.
Greste was freed in February after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi approved his deportation.
Fahmy, an Egyptian-born Canadian citizen, gave up his Egyptian citizenship in hopes of being deported under the same decree. He was released on bail that same week, after more than 400 days in detention, but was instead ordered to stand trial again, along with Mohamed.
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He said if he’s convicted, he could get a suspended sentence or be sentenced to time served. But, he could wind up behind bars again if he’s not deported.
Although the Canadian government said in the past it has engaged with its Egyptian counterparts on the case a number of times, Canadian officials have not been nearly as “aggressive” as Australia was in Greste’s case, Fahmy said.
“We’re a couple of weeks away from the verdict, so I need Canada behind me,” said Fahmy, who told Global News he has been offered a position as adjunct professor at UBC.
“I’m hoping Canada would release a public statement. I’m hoping that Canada will engage with the president… directly.”
He said he’s desperate to move on with his life. He said he’s been offered a job in Vancouver and needs further medical treatment for a shoulder injury he suffered during his arrest.
Fahmy’s grateful for the thousands of Canadians who signed a petition calling on the government to intervene in his case, but believes it’s the federal government’s influence that could make a difference.
With files from The Canadian Press
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