The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is calling on Canadian Prime Minster Stephen Harper to take immediate action for the deportation of jailed Canadian former Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy to Canada, according to a statement released Wednesday. The CPJ sent a letter to Harper, which was signed by CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon, Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour and over 300 other prominent public figures and human rights groups. “Direct and persistent requests from you personally to President Al-Sisi are Mr. Fahmy’s only hope for release,” the letter said. After a court verdict in August, Fahmy has been serving a three-year sentence in Tora Prison with his other Egyptian colleague Baher Mohamed. Both, along with Australian Peter Greste, were accused of being members of a terrorist organisation, the banned Muslim Brotherhood, operating without a licence, and broadcasting false news and reports of civil strife in Egypt. Greste was deported to Australia in February, while his other two colleagues are still in prison. President Al-Sisi promised last month to deal with the Al Jazeera convictions in a positive manner. In November 2014, he issued a decree allowing the deportation of foreign citizens imprisoned in Egypt. In February, Fahmy relinquished his Egyptian nationality in a bid to receive the same pardon as his Australian colleague.
CPJ calls on Canadian PM to help release Fahmy
