I will co-operate with Egypt court: Greste

Australian journalist Peter Greste wants to clear his name as well as his fellow Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt.

Australian journalist Peter Greste says he will cooperate with the Egyptian courts but wants them to accept him giving evidence by video link.

Mr Greste and his Al Jazeera colleagues Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were arrested in December 2013 and initially convicted of terrorism-related charges in a trial that was widely condemned as political.

Mr Greste has since been deported to Australia on the order of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

But at the last court hearing on May 9, an Egyptian judge ordered him to appear before the court or be considered on trial in absentia.

Mr Greste says that under Egyptian law anyone who is not present for their trial is automatically convicted.

He is unable to return to Egypt because of the deportation order, and says he has offered to give evidence via video link.

"We're trying to encourage the court accept this," he told Seven Network.

"What I want to do is try and cooperate with the court in some way to try and help the court come to the conclusion - the only conclusion as far as I'm concerned, that they could possibly come to and that is that there is no evidence, we weren't doing anything illegal.

"Therefore acquit not just those guys but myself as well."

If Mr Greste is unable to appear in person or via video link, he will be immediately found guilty under Egyptian law of the crime of which he is accused.

He has said a terrorism conviction would create huge problems for him getting a job or bank loan, and not least keep him from doing his present job as a journalist in any country that has an extradition order with Egypt.

For his colleagues, it could be mean more prison time or worse.


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Source: AAP


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