Australia celebrates journalist Peter Greste's retrial in Egypt

Sydney, Jan 2 (IANS/EFE) Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop Friday expressed her "optimism" at the announced retrial of Australian journalist Peter Greste, without ruling out the possibility of his release.

On Thursday, an Egyptian court ordered a retrial for Greste and his two colleagues from the Al Jazeera satellite news channel who have been in jail since December 2013 for allegedly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood organisation and spreading false news.

"In the past, the Egyptian government has indicated that they would consider some kind of prisoner transfer agreement and they do have a new law that was introduced recently, and it does give some optimism for us that he could be transferred back to Australia under that law," Bishop told the Nine Network.

"However, now that the appeal has been upheld, the conviction overturned, I think there are more possibilities, more options are available to the Grestes," she added.

Greste's brother, Michael Greste, told reporters that the defence lawyer has lodged an application with the Egyptian attorney-general for Peter's deportation following a decree issued in the country in November allowing the repatriation of foreign prisoners in Egypt.

"We believe that there is now a window of opportunity for the Egyptian president to exercise his presidential power under the decree," he told ABC television.

Greste and Canadian-Egyptian Mohammed Fahmy were sentenced to seven years imprisonment for spreading false news about Egypt and collaborating with the Muslim Brotherhood group, while Egyptian Baher Mohammed was given 10 years for being in possession of a weapon at the time of arrest.

Twelve other journalists were also tried "in absentia" on the same charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison while five students were handed seven-year prison sentences and two were acquitted.

The arrests and verdicts have triggered a huge controversy and wave of protests by NGOs and the international community.

The Muslim Brotherhood won the elections after the fall of president Hosni Mubarak in 2011 but were evicted from power in a military coup two years later.

According to reports, the situation of freedom of the press in Egypt has worsened since the coup. The annual report of Reporters Without Borders, released in December, says there are 16 imprisoned journalists in the Arab country.

--IANS/EFE

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