Egypt's president says he cannot interfere with the judiciary in the case of Australian Peter Greste and two other Al-Jazeera journalists who were jailed after being convicted of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.
Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said on Saturday he would have deported the three rather than let the matter go so far.
Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed were convicted in June of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood and spreading false news that portrayed Egypt as being in a state of "civil war".
Greste and Fahmy received seven-year terms, while Mohamed was jailed for 10 years, in a case that sparked international outrage.
They have filed appeals against their convictions.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Saturday el-Sissi did not address whether he would pardon the three after their appeals process is finished.
"If I had been in charge at the time, I never would have let the issue go so far. I would have deported them," he said of the three.
But he said that if Egypt is to have an independent judiciary, "We can't accept criticism or comment" on court rulings.
El-Sissi told AP he was prepared to give whatever support was needed in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq and he called for a "comprehensive strategy" to tackle the roots of extremism across the region.
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