Another delay in verdict of Greste case

Australian journalist Peter Greste and his two colleagues will have to wait until August 29 to learn the verdict in their Egyptian court case.

Australian journalist Peter Greste

Journalist Peter Greste. (AAP) Source: AAP

Australian journalist Peter Greste says he and two colleagues will not be truly free until a Egyptian court exonerates the trio of terrorism-related charges.

Mr Greste and his Al Jazeera colleagues, Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy, were dealt another hiccup on Sunday when the verdict in their retrial was adjourned to August 29.

It was the latest set back in a prolonged case that has attracted the criticism of press freedom advocates worldwide.

Mr Greste said although they are all physically out of prison, until the whole mess was over they couldn't get on with their lives.

"I guess the main message for us is even though the three of us are physically out of prison, until this whole mess is over, until we are fully exonerated of all of the charges, none of us are really truly free," he told AAP.

Mr Greste and his colleagues were jailed last year for spreading false news and supporting the banned Muslim Brotherhood during their coverage of the turmoil following the ousting of president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

An appeals court ordered a retrial and, after more than 400 days in jail, the three journalists were released.

Mr Greste was deported and his colleagues were freed on bail.

Mr Greste couldn't return to Egypt without violating his deportation order and is being tried in absentia.

The verdict in their retrial was due last Thursday but the hearing was adjourned, with no reason given.

On Sunday Mr Greste had been very hopeful he would finally see a verdict.

However it seemed one of the judges was sick and the replacement judge wasn't there, he said.

While Mr Greste is home in Australia, Mr Mohamed and Mr Fahmy go to court not knowing if they will see their family again.

"Every time they go they have to hug and kiss their families not knowing if they are going to see them again and that is tough," he said.

Fahmy criticised the delay.

"Verdict postponed until August 29th The audacity & continuous disrespect to our rights is unprecedented!" he tweeted minutes after the judge postponed the verdict.


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Source: AAP


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