Jailed Al Jazeera Journalists Protest ‘Sham’ Trial from Inside Cages

Four Al Jazeera journalists jailed by the Egyptian government for almost six months denounced what they referred to as a “sham” trial during a courtroom appearance Thursday.

Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were arrested as part of an Egyptian crackdown last summer that included a raiding of Al Jazeera’s offices and harassment of suspected freelancers for supposed collusion with the Muslim Brotherhood. The government has accused them of everything from reporting “fake news” to “assisting terrorism.”

On Thursday, Fahmy, the acting bureau chief for Al Jazeera English, decried to reporters present in the Cairo courtroom inhumane prison conditions and said the government was attempting to criminalize journalism.

Watch the video below, via Patrick Kingsley:

[h/t New York Times]

[Image via screengrab]

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