Egypt court denies bail to Al Jazeera staff

An Egyptian court denied bail to Al Jazeera English journalists on Monday, as their length of incarceration since arrest on terrorism charges neared 100 days.

Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, who have been held in a Cairo prison since December of 2013, appeared in front of a judge for the fourth time.

The case, which was adjourned at the session until April 10, has received worldwide attention and is the first time that Egypt has prosecuted journalists on terrorism charges.

The three men are accused of spreading false news and aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood, which the Egyptian government branded a "terrorist organization" last year. 

The reporting team was detained at their hotel by Egyptian security services on Dec. 29 and taken to Cairo's high security Torah prison. Al Jazeera has repeatedly rejected the charges against its staff and continues to call for their immediate release.

Greste and seven co-defendants appeared in a caged dock on Monday wearing white prison uniforms, Agence France-Presse news agency reported. The judge allowed the journalists out of the caged dock during the session, and they were allowed to address the court directly.

Greste told the court that he was a correspondent with 30 years of experience, and had no connection to the Muslim Brotherhood, and Fahmy told the judge: "I ask you to find us innocent."

"After three hearings, it's apparent that there's no case against us. No witness has anything that incriminates us," Fahmy told AFP, just minutes before the day's proceedings began.

Fahmy is suffering from a dislocated shoulder, an injury he sustained before he was arrested. He has received only limited medical treatment and, according to his family, can barely move his arm. 

Greste's brother Mike said his brother was "strong... but 100 days in prison must have left its effect on him."

Monday's hearing comes a day after Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim accused an Al Jazeera editor of helping to leak classified intelligence documents, in a separate espionage trial involving Morsi.

Abdullah al-Shami, from Al Jazeera Arabic channel, has been detained for more than six months without charge and has been on a hunger strike since Jan. 23.

Al Jazeera's correspondents Sue Turton and Dominic Kane, who covered events in Egypt and are now abroad, are being tried in absentia.

Institutions including the Australian government, the White House, the European Union and the United Nations have called for the release of the men, and for press freedom to be upheld in Egypt.

Al Jazeera and Agence France-Presse