‘Betrayed and abandoned’: Mohamed Fahmy slams Harper on involvement during his trial

Canadian Journalist Mohamed Fahmy has spoken out about his experience in a jail cell while being wrongfully detained in Egypt saying he felt “betrayed and abandoned” by Stephen Harper.

“There are no words to describe how it feels when you are wrongfully convicted and sitting in a cold cell infested with insects, nurturing a broken shoulder,” Fahmy explained.

“But when you’re there your only hope is that your prime minister will do everything in his power to get you out of there.”

READ MORE: Fahmy hopes ordeal will lead to ‘constructive debate’ on foreign policy

The Conservative government has said it made calls at the highest level for Fahmy’s release.

Fahmy was speaking publicly for the first time since returning to Canada at a news conference hosted by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression in Toronto on Tuesday.

“Sitting in that prison cell, it was difficult not to feel betrayed and abandoned by Prime Minister Harper,” Fahmy said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Sitting in that prison cell, it was difficult not to feel betrayed and abandoned by Prime Minister Harper," Fahmy said.

Now, Fahmy wants to start a conversation about how the government will deal with any future cases like his.

The federal government, for its part, has said it did all it could under the circumstances.

WATCH: Mohamed Fahmy slams Prime Minister Harper for not supporting him during his imprisonment. 

Minister of State Lynne Yelich said in a statement Oct. 6 she’s grateful that Fahmy’s “long ordeal is over.”

“Canada has worked tirelessly, at the highest levels, on Mr. Fahmy’s behalf,” the statement reads.

While Fahmy acknowledged that many government officials were in Egypt working to free him, he believes Harper could have done more.

“Our prime minister delegated his responsibility to people who lacked the clout to really get me out of there,” he said Tuesday.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Our prime minister delegated his responsibility to people who lacked the clout to really get me out of there," he said Tuesday.

Fahmy has already spoken to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to “express gratitude for his support.”

He is set to meet with NDP Leader Tom Mulcair on Friday afternoon.

Fahmy was arrested in Egypt in 2013 with two colleagues and detained on terror-related charges, then sentenced to three years in prison in a widely-condemned retrial this year.

He was released from prison in Egypt last month after he and his Egyptian co-defendant received a pardon.

With files from The Canadian Press.