Three al-Jazeera journalists have been sentenced to three years in prison in connection with their work by an Egyptian court, which has been condemned by rights groups and news organisation as an assault on the freedom of press.
The ruling came after 20 months of legal battle wherein journalists Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste had already spent at least 400 days in prison.
International lawyer, Amal Clooney, said that the verdict sends a “dangerous message” that journalists can be im prisoned for simply doing their work.
The case has been a high-profile illustration of the erosion of media freedom in Egypt in the two years since the military removed the country’s elected Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, from power.
