Mohamed Fahmy, the jailed Al Jazeera journalist, won’t appeal his conviction. Fahmy is one of three journalists from the Qatar-based channel found guilty last week of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Today, with the help of his brother, Fahmy tweeted that an appeal would be futile.
Appeal verdict means retrial all over again with a new judge months later. NOT HUMAN !
— Mohamed Fadel Fahmy (@Repent11) June 30, 2014
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To appeal verdict is to continue to entertain their theatrical performance aka “trial”. Done role playing !
— Mohamed Fadel Fahmy (@Repent11) June 30, 2014
Whether he changes his mind or not, the Egyptian judge in Fahmy’s case hasn’t yet filed the guilty verdict, a step needed for the appeals process to begin.
Fahmy also claimed he was being scapegoated.
It angers me that I have taken the fall for Aljazeera’s coverage for past 3 yrs when I was Bureau Chief for only 3 months !
— Mohamed Fadel Fahmy (@Repent11) June 30, 2014
During the trial, Fahmy shouted from his cage: “You’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty…this is about free press. Democracy and free press. They don’t believe in free press.”
Last week, Al Jazeera held a Press Freedom town hall at the United Nations in New York. There, Al Jazeera anchors and executives spoke to TVNewser about their jailed colleagues. “The idea that these guys would be imprisoned right now, essentially fighting for their reputations, fighting for their lives, is just unconscionable to me,” Al Jazeera America anchor Tony Harris said.