Australia optimistic Egypt will release jailed journalist

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Wednesday she is optimistic that Egypt may release jailed Australian journalist Peter Greste within days.

Greste and two Al Jazeera colleagues - Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed - were sentenced in June to seven years in jail for defaming Egypt and aiding banned Islamists.

The case sparked a global outcry and demands for a presidential pardon amid claims the trial was politically motivated.

Bishop said she spoke with Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry this week to argue the case for Greste to be released for Christmas.

"He said it was under consideration so we are hoping that our representations will result in a release for Peter Greste," she told Channel Seven television.

"We've got our fingers crossed but we don't know yet whether we have secured this but I'm hopeful, I'm optimistic."

An Egyptian court is scheduled to hear on 1 January an appeal by the three journalists against their conviction.

"It would be very exciting if there were some steps taken before then. I'm just mildly, mildly optimistic," Bishop said.

Greste has been in custody since 29 December last year and he has written a letter to his supporters as the anniversary looms.

In the letter, he said he felt proud at what had been achieved so far in galvanising political debate about the right to a free press and the persecution of journalists in Egypt.

"We have galvanised an incredible coalition of political, diplomatic and media figures, as well as a vast army of social media supporters for that most basic of rights -- the right to know," Greste said.

"Never has cleared-eyed, critical, sceptical journalism been more necessary to help make sense of a world overloaded with information."

Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said earlier this year he could not consider a plea of clemency or a pardon until all legal proceedings have been concluded, and that included an appeal.

Canada pushing for release

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will travel to Egypt next month to push for the release of imprisoned Egyptian-Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy.

Baird said Canada has been working hard behind the scenes to win the release of the Al Jazeera journalist who will be entering his 13th month in captivity by the time Baird arrives in Cairo in January.

Baird has met twice with his Egyptian counterpart in the last month, most recently in Bahrain, and pushed for the release of the 40-year-old Fahmy, the minister's office said Tuesday.

"We had a long conversation about this," Baird told Ottawa radio station CFRA in an interview Tuesday about his most recent discussion with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

Baird said he also met with Egypt's ambassador to Canada on Monday to discuss Fahmy's possible release.

Baird's office said the minister also had a separate conversation with Shoukry at an international gathering in the United Arab Emirates last month. 

One year anniversary

December 29th will mark one year since the three journalists were arrested in Cairo. Journalists and friends around the world will come together to show their solidarity with the three men with newsrooms stopping work at 1200 Egypt-time to pause and reflect on the year's events.

The three issued a message that included a plea for help and Christmas greetings, as the one year anniversary of their arrest approaches.

Fahmy delivered his statements from Tora prison in Cairo to the Canadian state broadcasting agency CBC, pleading for Canadian government intervention to release him and his colleagues.

He argued that he deserves help from the government, saying: “I’ve paid my taxes, I have a proven track record of 15 years of journalism and I’ve acted with complete decency throughout the whole trial.”

Greste said: “As we approach the end of our first year in prison, I cannot help but feel proud and strengthened by all that has been achieved so far. We haven’t won this fight yet – we are still behind bars after all – but we have made our cause abundantly and unequivocally clear.”

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi commented on the journalists’ case following the jailing sentence, saying he was considering pardoning Al Jazeera journalists jailed in his country for nearly a year, Reuters reported.

He also said in an interview with France 24, when asked about the possibility of a pardoning decision to be made soon: “If we find this appropriate for the national security of Egypt, we will do it.”