Kenyan online community re-energizes campaign for the release of Al Jazeera journalists

PHARAOH LET AL JAZEERA JOURNALISTS GO: For nearly two years, the world has been treated to legal theatrics, insincerity and shenanigans coming out of Egyptian jurisprudential systems over the arrests, prosecution and sentencing of three Al Jazeera journalists.

In the very initial footings of this case, the three Journalists Peter Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Bureau Chief Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Producer Baher Mohamed were rounded and locked up in Egyptian jail for over 400 days before being released on February, this year.

The three Journalists had been accused and subsequently convicted for spreading false news, or in other words, collaborating with Egyptian’ outlawed socio-political outfit known as Muslim Brotherhood. In what the whole world has referred to as a sham judicial process, the Egyptian government has persistently pursued the three journalists so as to send a chilling message to journalists across the world.    

Australian journalist Peter Greste has had a great profession – having worked with some of the most respected media houses like Reuters and BBC before joining Al-Jazeera's English news channel.

Free Al Jazeera Staff

In June 2014, two of the journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste were sentenced to seven years in prison while Baher Mohammed was sentenced to three more years – in addition to charges of possession of illegal bullet casing, which he picked up as a souvenir. In a show of deeply rooted vendetta, the court’s decision stated that the Al Jazeera staff had been ‘aided by the Devil’. This is a clear indication that the court can never be fair and will never be just to the three journalists.

Just as we had done around two years ago, the world is called upon to stand with Journalists – by putting more pressure on the Egyptian government to release the jailed scribes. The men’s imprisonment had earlier sparked an international outcry from media organisations who took to social media to ask Egypt to #freeAJstaff (a hashtag that originated from Kenya). The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern over what it called ‘the systematic targeting of Al Jazeera staff’ and the wider situation facing journalists and other media workers in Egypt.

An experienced correspondent, Mr Greste started out reporting on Bosnia and South Africa, then moved on to cover Afghanistan, Mexico, and the Middle East before joining Al Jazeera’s Nairobi Kenya’s office.

On the 31st August 2015, Kenyan Information Scientist, Obar Mark reenergized the campaign by calling on Kenyans and the entire world to rally behind the Al Jazeera Journalists. The campaign was coordinated by East Africans who took pictures with banners, “Pharaoh, Let Al Jazeera Journalists go!”  #FreeAJStaff.