Family of Al Jazeera journalist seeks deportation as ‘best option’

The family of jailed Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste has applied to have him deported from Egypt, describing the application as their "best option" after a court ordered a retrial in his case.

Greste — along with two Al Jazeera colleagues, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed — has been imprisoned for 370 days in Egypt, after being found guilty of aiding the Muslim Brotherhood, an outlawed group that Cairo has labeled a terrorist organization.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Andrew Greste, one of Peter Greste's brothers, said the family was "seeking application to have Peter brought back to Australia."

Brothers, Mike Greste and Andrew Greste said on Friday that a decision by an appeals court to order a retrial was a "positive step in the legal process and one step closer to justice being served."

A decree, they said, from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in November allowing him to deport foreigners on trial or sentenced to prison was "the best option to get Peter home."

The journalists' imprisonment has been a thorny issue for Sisi as he seeks to prove his commitment to democratic reforms. Despite widespread criticism of the case, he has cited the independence of the judiciary. He said in November, however, that had he been in power when the three were arrested in December 2013, he would have preferred to deport Greste.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Greste could be transferred home under Sisi's decree, although the law had yet to be tested. "The law is not very clear," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "It is a new law. But it does provide for a couple of options for prisoners to be transferred back to their home country — in this case, Australia." 

If the deportation application fails, Greste's brothers said his lawyer would apply for bail at the retrial, adding they had been advised that proceedings could start in 45 days.

Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in prison, and Mohamed received an additional three years for having in his possession a spent bullet, which he picked up at a protest site.

The three were not at Thursday's hearing in Cairo, which lasted just 30 minutes.

International press freedom advocates, Al Jazeera and other media outlets have called the accusations against the three journalists absurd and repeatedly demanded their release.

Human rights advocacy group Amnesty International said the retrial acknowledged major flaws in the original convictions. "These men should never have been jailed in the first place and should not have to spend one more day in prison," said Hassiba Hadjsahraoui, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa. "Instead of prolonging their unjust detention pending a retrial, they must be freed immediately." 

Washington echoed Amnesty’s sentiments. "Obviously we welcome the court's recognition that the original decision was flawed, even as we remain concerned about the continued detention of the three journalists," the U.S. State Department said in a statement. "We are following this case closely and continue to urge the Egyptian government to consider all available measures to release these journalists."

Al Jazeera and wire services