An Egyptian Court Orders a Retrial For the Jailed Al Jazeera Journalists

The three Al Jazeera journalists incarcerated in Egypt received a glimmer of hope on Thursday, when a court canceled their jail sentences and ordered a retrial.

However, Mohamed Famy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste were denied bail at an appeal hearing, with the judge ruling that their case had to be reviewed by a criminal court, Al Jazeera reported.

Famy, Greste and Mohamed have been in prison for over a year after being convicted of conspiring with the now banned Muslim Brotherhood. Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to seven years each in prison, while Mohamed received an additional three years for possession of a spent bullet casing he had picked up during one of the protests.

Al Jazeera has maintained that the charges against its employees are baseless and absurd, and the defense lawyers said they expect the retrial to be held within a month.

The trio’s families were not satisfied with the verdict, having harbored the hope that they would be released this week.

[Al Jazeera]