The Qatar-based global news network Al-Jazeera declared “a global day of action” on 27 February in order to show solidarity and support for its journalists who have been detained in Egypt. Al-Jazeera also called for vigils outside Egyptian embassies across the world on the same day to press Egypt to free four of its journalists, three of whom have been charged with aiding a terrorist organisation. The three, from Al-Jazeera's English-language television service, Peter Greste, an award-winning Australian reporter and former BBC correspondent, Mohamed Fahmi, a Canadian-Egyptian national, and Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian, were detained in Cairo on December 29 at their Cairo Marriott Hotel suite. Al-Jazeera Arabic's Abdullah Al-Shami has been detained since 14 August 2013, and has been on hunger strike since 23 January. The three, together with 17 others from Al-Jazeera media, face charges of belonging to a terrorist organisation, an apparent reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, and broadcasting false information to “convince the international community that Egypt is undergoing a civil war.” Al-Jazeera denies the charges against its journalists, calling the accusations “absurd”. Their trial on accusations of “airing false news” and “aiding or joining a terrorist group” began last week, but was adjourned to 8 March. The Qatari-based network has encouraged supporters to participate in its campaign by posting photographs to Instagram or Twitter using #FreeAJStaff. The hashtag has grown with the photograph campaign, reaching nearly 9,000 uses in just 24 hours. Many online supporters have joined the campaign, posting their own photographs using #FreeAJStaff. Last Thursday, journalists in 30 locations worldwide staged vigils before Egyptian embassies in solidarity with the detainees, aiming to draw attention to the need for press freedom in Egypt. The hashtag has been tweeted more than 87,000 times since the beginning of February, according to the social-media monitoring and analysis Website Crimson Hexagon. The trial and campaign has received international solidarity from journalists and editors of global media organisations who have signed letters demanding the release of the detained journalists. The clampdown has also drawn international condemnation from the White House, the European Union and the United Nations. They have called for the release of the journalists and for the protection of press freedom in Egypt. “We are calling on all journalists and supporters of freedom to stage vigils in front of Egyptian embassies all over the world,” Ghassan Abu Hussein, international relations manager at Al-Jazeera, told a news conference in Doha. Al-Jazeera said in a statement that “we hope through the attention of the world's media and partners, pressure can be brought to bear on the Egyptian authorities.” Of the 20 defendants who face trial, eight are detained, while 12 are on the run with arrest warrants against them. Four of the defendants are foreigners, while the rest are Egyptians. Rena Netjes, Cairo correspondent for Holland's Parool newspaper and BNR radio, fled Egypt last month after it emerged she had been one of the 20 Al-Jazeera journalists accused of fabricating news and being part of an alleged terrorist plot. After her involvement became known, Netjes went into hiding for several days. Following the intervention of Dutch officials, Netjes was secretly allowed to leave Egypt on 3 February. In an email to the UK Guardian newspaper before flying to the Netherlands, Netjes described the accusations as “unbelievably crazy” and credited the Dutch embassy in Cairo with “saving my life.” Netjes said it was likely she had come under suspicion because she had visited Al-Jazeera's Fahmi at the Marriott a few days before he was arrested for an interview about the insurgency in Sinai. Earlier last month, Mohamed Badr, an Al-Jazeera television cameraman freed from detention in Egypt, told a news conference that he had been “abused and subjected to brutality almost daily” by security staff during nearly seven months in detention. An Egyptian court acquitted Badr, an Egyptian national, of charges of committing acts of violence during clashes in Cairo. “I was slapped on the face, blindfolded and forced on my knees as I was questioned by an officer who kicked me in the face with his shoes,” he said. Egypt is ranked 158 out of 179 countries in the Reporters without Borders Press Freedom Index. The US state department's annual report, which covers the state of human rights across the world, has also been negative regarding Egypt. The latest report, issued on 27 February, also highlights the lack of press freedom in Egypt and the legal and physical attacks on journalists by successive Egyptian governments. It presents a grim picture of the situation regarding freedom of speech and political organising in Egypt. The foreign ministry has criticised the American report and accused the US of hypocrisy, bias and applying double standards. Foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdel-Atti questioned America's authority to judge the human rights performances of others, given America's controversial policies regarding Guantanamo Bay, foreign eavesdropping and the “systematic violence against civilians” perpetrated by US forces. Al-Jazeera's offices in Cairo have been closed since 3 July, after being raided by security forces in the aftermath of the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood. The only Al-Jazeera-affiliated channel to have been banned by court order is Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr. Launched weeks after the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak and widely perceived as being the voice of the Revolution before being accused of acting as the voice of the Brotherhood, the Mubasher Misr channel operated for over two years without official approval. The network, which now broadcasts from Qatar and can still be viewed in Egypt, was accused by the authorities and local media of biased coverage in favour of the Brotherhood, recently dubbed as a terrorism organisation.
