The father of an Australian journalist accused of having links to the black-listed Muslim Brotherhood has welcomed an early trial date for his son in Egypt.
Egyptian authorities announced on Tuesday that Peter Greste and a group of his Al-Jazeera colleagues will face trial on February 20.
Prosecutors accuse the news crew of portraying Egypt in a state of "civil war" and "airing false news".
Mr Greste could be jailed for up to seven years if convicted.
His parents, Lois and Juris Greste, are glad the trial will be soon.
"We are greatly heartened there will not be a long arduous wait for the next milestone to arrive," Juris told reporters in Brisbane.
Lois said family members would soon travel to Egypt to support Peter.
She was also optimistic their son, whom they last spoke to about a month ago, would have a fair trial.
"We've got faith in the Egyptian judicial system," she said.
Juris said his son was completely innocent of all the allegations and charges against him.
"Our plea is, by his character and personal values, he has never been a threat to anybody," he said.
"Ours a peace-loving and peace-respecting family. We look forward to welcoming Peter into the arms of his loving family in the very nearest possible future."
Since the military ousted President Mohamed Morsi in July, the county's interim government has been incensed by Al-Jazeera's coverage of a deadly crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood to which the deposed Islamist belongs.
On January 30, prosecutors referred to trial 20 people, including Mr Greste.
International pressure on Egypt to release them has been gaining momentum, but the military isn't swayed -instead broadening it's media crackdown.
It's issued arrest warrants for another pair of Al Jazeera journalists for their coverage of the ousting of former president Mohammad Morsi.
Sue Turton is one of two of Peter Greste's colleagues based in Doha also facing similar charges.
The charges were laid against them and several other people last week, as part of a wider Egyptian crack-down on journalists and dissidents.
However, the two Britons left Egypt last year, so it's not clear if, or how, Egyptian authorities would pursue them.
Ms Turton spoke to SBS reporter Gary Cox:
