President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said on Tuesday that judicial rulings must be respected, following harsh and widely condemned prison sentences served on Monday to Egyptian and foreign journalists. Commenting on a recent court verdict sending three Al Jazeera journalists and 15 other defendants to prison for a period ranging from 3 to 10 years, Al-Sisi stressed that the Egyptian judiciary is independent. "During my first meeting with him, I told the justice minister I will not interfere in judicial affairs," Al-Sisi said during a graduation ceremony held at the Military Academy. "If we want an institutional state, we must respect judicial rulings and refrain from commenting on them." The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced on Monday Al Jazeera Cairo Bureau Chief Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and correspondent Peter Greste to 7 years in prison, and producer Baher Mohamed to 10 years in prison. The three journalists were sentenced based on accusations of aiding a terrorist group, tarnishing Egypt's image abroad, threatening national security, and "creating a terrorist media network". The other foreigners, tried in absentia, are Britons Sue Turton and Dominic Kane, who have previously worked for Al Jazeera in Cairo, but were not in the country at the time of arrest. Dutch journalist Rena Netjes is also a defendant, but has never worked for Al-Jazeera, and was allowed to leave Egypt following discussions between the Dutch embassy and the foreign ministry. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly rejected the foreign statements commenting on the verdict. "We strongly reject any foreign comment casting doubt on the independence of the judiciary or the justice of its verdicts," read a foreign ministry statement released on Monday night. "Such interference in our internal affairs is rejected; it angers all Egyptians." The prison sentence has been widely condemned by several countries and international organisations. United States Secretary of State John Kerry described it as "chilling and draconian" while the White House called on the Egyptian authorities to pardon the sentenced defendants. European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton expressed the Union's "concern" regarding the sentence following a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council held on Monday. British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who summoned Egyptian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Ashraf Elkholy shortly after the issuance of the sentence, said he is "appalled by the guilty verdicts handed down against Egyptian and international journalists in Egypt," including British Al Jazeera journalists Sue Turton and Dominic Kane, who were each given 10 years in absentia. In response to the 10 year sentence given to Dutch journalist Rena Netjes in absentia, The Netherlands' Ministry of Foreign Affairs also summoned its Egyptian Ambassador, expressing its disappointment with the verdict. Additional reporting by Aaron T. Rose
