CAIRO—An Egyptian court released a detailed ruling Sunday on why it sentenced three Al-Jazeera English journalists to three years in prison for airing what it described as “false news” and biased coverage, a case long criticized by press freedom advocates and others.
The ruling, published by the state news agency MENA, stated the three men—Canadian national Mohammed Fahmy, Australian journalist Peter Greste, and Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed—were by default members the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, which Egyptian authorities consider a terrorist organization.
“It has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that the Al-Jazeera media channel has dedicated its broadcasting to the service and support of the Muslim Brotherhood faction and that they have permanently sided with them at the expense of their media ethics,” the ruling said. “This provides enough ground for a conviction of belonging to a group based on violations of the law.”
The ruling also said the three operated without press credentials and secretly worked at the Marriott hotel in central Cairo without a permit. The journalists and the network deny the accusations. Al-Jazeera has said it will appeal.
After last weekend’s ruling, Mohammed and Fahmy were imprisoned, while Greste previously was deported.
