Egypt to Retry Al Jazeera Journalists

Although Australian Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste was freed last week, Egypt announced that it will begin retrying his two colleagues on Feb. 12. Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were sentenced to seven and 10 years in prison, respectively. However, there were hopes that Fahmy, who holds Canadian citizenship, would avoid a retrial. Canadian junior foreign minister Lynne Yelich said the country is deeply concerned by the announcement of a retrial date, even though authorities have received assurance that Fahmy would be released with Greste. “We remain hopeful that Mr. Fahmy’s case will be resolved in a timely manner,” she said in a statement calling for his immediate release.