Australian Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and
Egyptian Baher Mohamed were sentenced in June to seven to 10 years
in jail for spreading lies to help a "terrorist organization" - a
reference to Egypt's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Egypt's High Court ordered their retrial on Thursday citing
procedural flaws in the original trial, which was condemned by human
rights groups and Western governments.
The reporters' imprisonment is a thorny issue for Egyptian President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who ousted his Islamist predecessor in July
2013 and cracked down on the Brotherhood, as he seeks to prove his
commitment to reform.
Their families say they are paying the price for a deterioration in
ties between Qatar, which owns Al Jazeera, and Egypt following the
Brotherhood's expulsion from power.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jan/02/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png) Doha supported the Brotherhood during its year in power but a recent
Saudi push to heal the rift had raised expectations the reporters
would be freed.
The November law allows for foreign convicts or suspects to be
transferred to their country to serve their sentences or to be tried
there. It was not clear how it might be applied in the Al Jazeera
case since it has yet to be used and there are no precedents.
Greste's lawyer Mostafa Nagy told Reuters in Cairo he had presented
the prosecution with a deportation request last month but received
no response. He planned to make a new request in light of Thursday's
ruling and hoped it would be accepted.
Greste's brother, Andrew, echoed those hopes.
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"Now that Peter is essentially an innocent man, he's not convicted
any more, it does allow for some room to move and for him (Sisi) to
step in ... and deport him," he told reporters in Brisbane.
Fahmy's brother Adel also told Reuters in Cairo that his lawyers had
formally asked Egypt's presidency and prosecution that he be
pardoned or deported.
Despite widespread criticism of the case, Sisi has resisted
intervening directly, citing judicial independence.
Defense lawyers say the retrial could begin within a month. The
judge has the power to release all three on bail at the first
hearing.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said: "There are more
avenues...for Peter Greste, his family and his legal team to
pursue."
(Additional reporting and writing by Lin Noueihed, Editing by Ralph
Boulton)
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