The next hearing is set to be a procedural affair. A new technical committee is set to be appointed. The defendants say they have prepared themselves for a long, drawn out court battle.
The previous two hearings were quickly adjourned. The first, when two of the defendants named in the case — students imprisoned on separate charges — were not brought to court. And the second, after the security officers failed to turn up in court, leading to the judge angrily threatening to fine them both an equivalent of $80 each for failing to appear. The fines were waived today.
Fahmy and Mohamed were released on bail, pending a retrial, having both spent more than a year in prison. A third journalist in the case, Australian correspondent Peter Greste was deported last month.
The three Al-Jazeera English journalists were sentenced to up to a decade in jail on terror-related charges last June in a verdict that sparked international outrage and condemnation from world leaders. Rights groups criticized what they said was an assault on free speech and called the trial a sham.
In January, the verdict was overturned on appeal by Egypt’s highest appeals court, who ruled that the sentence was based on flawed evidence and ordered a retrial.
Article Appeared @http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/03/19/mohamed-fahmy-terror-trial-in-cairo-delayed-again.html