Two Al Jazeera journalists, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, are awaiting retrial after being imprisoned in Cairo on terrorism related charges. Fahmy and Mohamed went to trial two times before this last session where both were adjourned. The most recent trial was postponed because the witnesses failed to attend court for the second hearing in a row.
Australian Al Jazeera reporter Peter Greste was also involved in the case and was imprisoned for 400 days before being released on February 1st and sent back to Australia. The three reporters were detained in December 2013 where they were convicted of spreading inaccurate news and collaborating with the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned religious and political group that goes against Islamist views.
Geste, who was released before Fahmy and Mohamed, wrote letters from Cairo's Tora Prison displaying his anger at being jailed on charges of falsifying news and tarnishing Egypt's reputation. He stated that the "new normal" in Egypt has changed so drastically that regular journalism now became threatening.
In a letter smuggled out of Mohamed Fahey's prison cell, he said:
"A key part of our defense has been to convince the judge of our professional integrity; to prove to him that we are journalists striving for the truth; and not agents of terror."
The Al Jazeera journalists say they have been left in "unprecedented legal limbo" after facing a long series of setbacks and extreme complications.
Television, which is Egypt's most prevalent medium, is made up of mostly state-influenced channels. The Egyptian government indirectly influences the decisions of what type of information is shown and what is kept from its viewers. Any kind of information shown that the government feels goes against them is said to be terrorism. The Al Jazeera journalists were charged on these same terms of exposing the government's flaws.
A five-minute film released in December 2013, titled "Trapped," captures the impact of the media on Egypt. "Trapped" portrays an old man living a normal life in Cairo, watching television and eating in his home. As he changes channels, the receptiveness of the media is depicted, each channel showing breaking news with accusations of "terrorists" destroying the country.
The media is said to be Egypt's own con artist, painting a false picture in the minds of Egyptians and glorifying the police, army, and government. The journalists who dedicate their lives to exposing the truth about government wrongdoing's are punished and sentenced to imprisonment.
Nour Abdel-Ghani, a student and writer for Egyptian Streets, wrote in an opinion article:
"Fear is what fuels self-censorship. Government economic and political influence is what fuels propaganda. When combined, when self-censorship succumbs to pro-regime propaganda, these two prove disastrous. It is the media, to use its own words, that “terrorizes” the people; it is the media that “terrorizes” the hope of a democratic society."
These journalists, known as "terrorists," are protesting against the injustice and oppression and face serious obstacles in reputable reporting. Self-censorship is the only way they can maintain their freedom without risk of consequence.