Story highlights
- President al-Sisi acknowledged Al Jazeera case had been PR disaster for Egypt
- Egypt's traditional allies were openly appalled by the sentences against the three
- Many thought trio were pawns in battle between al-Sisi and Qatar, which funds Al Jazeera
President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi touched on the desperate state of the economy, the
deadly jihadist insurrection in Sinai, the role of religion in politics
and human rights.
Amid this litany of
woes, the jailing of Greste, who is Australian, and two other Al
Jazeera journalists in Egypt had become an embarrassment for a
government whose human rights record was already receiving plenty of
adverse attention.
In July, soon after
their sentences were handed down to an international outcry, President
al-Sisi acknowledged the case had been a PR disaster for Egypt. He told
local journalists the trial had been "very negative" for the country's
reputation.
"I wished they had been deported immediately after their arrest instead of being put on trial," he said.
Greste
was arrested at the end of 2013 along with Al Jazeera Cairo bureau
chief Mohamed Fahmy and producer Baher Mohamed. They were accused of
disseminating "false information" and belonging to a "terrorist
organization." After a four-month trial, Greste and Fahmy received
seven-year sentences; Mohammed got 10 years. As of Monday, Fahmy and
Mohamed were still behind bars.
The
case against them was part of a heavy-handed campaign against anyone
who had anything to do with members or supporters of the Muslim
Brotherhood, which was decreed a "terrorist organization" soon after
al-Sisi and the military seized power. That campaign was supported by
almost hysterical media coverage of the "threat within." Human rights
groups say thousands of Brotherhood members are in jail awaiting trial;
nearly 200 more have been sentenced to death.
Throughout
the proceedings against the Al Jazeera journalists, the Egyptian
government -- from al-Sisi downwards -- insisted it had no part in the
judicial process.
Few observers took
that at face value. Many thought the trio were pawns in a confrontation
between al-Sisi and the emirate of Qatar, which funds Al Jazeera. The
charges even suggested as much, accusing the trio of broadcasting scenes
"through the Qatari Jazeera channel to assist the [Muslim Brotherhood]
terrorist group in achieving its purposes of influencing international
public opinion."
Australian Foreign
Minister Julie Bishop also alluded to the political complexion of the
case when the three men were sentenced, saying: "Al Jazeera is not the
favorite news channel in Egypt. So my fear is that Peter Greste was in
the wrong place at the wrong time."
Throughout
the Middle East --- from Syria to Gaza to Libya -- Qatar has funded and
supported groups affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood since the Arab
Spring erupted four years ago. Among Qatar's allies was the leader of
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Morsi, who became President in June
2012 but was ousted by al-Sisi a year later.
Egypt's
traditional allies were openly appalled by the sentences against the
three. The White House lambasted "the prosecution of journalists for
reporting information that does not coincide with the government of
Egypt's narrative."
But the journalists' trial (several others were charged in absentia) was part of a pattern.
Human Rights Watch
said the prosecution "coming after the prosecution of protesters and
academics, shows how fast the space for dissent in Egypt is
evaporating."
One of many examples:
Amr Hamzawy, an academic and former member of parliament, was charged
with "insulting the judiciary after a tweet claiming the conviction of
43 employees of pro-democracy organizations demonstrated the
"politicization" of the judiciary. He is yet to be tried.
It
was a draconian campaign that seemed tone-deaf toward governments that
had long enjoyed good relations with Egypt, and which -- in the case of
the United States -- provided billions in military aid.
And
as harrowing as the experience of the three Al Jazeera journalists has
been, others have suffered worse fates, according to human rights
groups. After al-Sisi was elected President, Human Rights Watch urged
him to investigate "the police and army killings of more than 1,400
demonstrators over the past 12 months and the mounting allegations of
torture and other ill-treatment of detainees."
Egypt vs. Qatar
Egyptian
officials might argue that the Al Jazeera case was one component of a
broader strategy to get Qatar to mend its ways -- and that it worked. In
the wake of the military takeover in Egypt, Qatar had become a
sanctuary for Egyptian Brotherhood leaders. But in recent months, the
Qataris have quietly distanced themselves from prominent Brotherhood
figures. Several left Qatar in September, although the Qataris insisted
they had not been expelled.
Weeks
later, al-Sisi issued a decree allowing Egypt to repatriate foreign
prisoners, which is exactly what has happened to Greste. Fahmy holds
both Canadian and Egyptian citizenship, so the same procedure seems
likely in his case, but Baher Mohamed is Egyptian and his fate remains
unclear.
Which brings us back the
speech al-Sisi was making Sunday as Greste was being deported. It came
two days after the jihadist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis -- an affiliate
of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) -- carried out its most
audacious attack yet on security outposts in the Sinai desert, killing
at least 30 people.
Acknowledging the
threat from Islamist militancy, al-Sisi spoke of a "dangerous mass that
has for the past 30 to 40 years been spreading extremist thought and
doesn't want to understand that God had created us different" (code for
the Muslim Brotherhood.)
Al-Sisi
announced that "east of the [Suez] Canal is now a single military
command under the leadership of General Osama Rushdi to fight
terrorism." But it's the second time in four months he has promised the
Egyptian people that he will combat extremism in Sinai.
He
also addressed the shooting death in Cairo last week of political
activist Shaima Sabbagh, while casting himself as father of the nation.
"Shaima
was the daughter of Egypt and all the daughters and sons of Egypt are
my children," al-Sisi said, promising an investigation. Activists claim
Sabbagh was shot by police during protests to mark the fourth
anniversary of the 2011 uprising, in which more than 20 people were
killed. Anti-government protests have become more frequent despite the
best efforts of the security forces.
On
the parlous state of the Egyptian economy and its public finances,
al-Sisi was equally forthright, thanking Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates for their financial support, estimated at $11 billion in
the year to July 2014.
"If it was not
for your support, Egypt would not have survived until now," he said. But
he also admitted the government was still strapped for cash.
"Egypt does not have 150 billion Egyptian pounds (about $20 billion) to spend on its people."
Simply
put, amid this dire outlook, the Al Jazeera case became an irritant
that al-Sisi's government could do without. As President al-Sisi himself
made clear, the war on the Muslim Brotherhood will continue to be
pursued remorselessly. But his opponents at home and many international
observers see a
broader and unremitting campaign against dissent of any sort.
CNN's Ali Younes contributed to this report.
David Jackson
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