Egypt's Court of Cassation accepted Thursday an appeal filed against sentences handed down to three jailed Al-Jazeera journalists and ordered a retrial to be scheduled. The three were not granted bail, however, meaning that they will remain behind the bars, after one year in detention. Journalists of the Doha-based network, Egyptian-Canadian and Cairo bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed and Australian correspondent Peter Greste, were sentenced in June to jail terms ranging from seven to 10 years on charges of spreading false news and aiding the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group. The defendants denied the allegations saying they were simply doing their jobs. The case stirred international uproar. Diplomatic representations from the Australian and Canadian embassies were present at the Thurday court session that was characterised by heightened security. The defendants' lawyers had appealed the criminal court's ruling, saying it was faulty for a number of reasons, including breaching due process rights of defence and including deficiencies in reasoning. Lawyers said the defendants were physically and psychologically assaulted and forced to confess to crimes they did not commit. The court's decision Thursday came amid a nearing rapprochement between Egypt and Qatar after months of soured relations due to the latter's support of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi and his group. Last week, Al-Jazeera announced it was taking its controversial Egyptian service Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr off air. The station was accused of openly supporting deposed president Morsi. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/119248.aspx
