{{Three Al Jazeera journalists were sentenced to seven years in jail by an Egyptian judge on Monday for aiding a “terrorist organization”, drawing criticism from Western governments who said the verdict undermined freedom of expression.}}<\/p>\n
The three, who all denied the charge of working with the now banned Muslim Brotherhood, included Australian Peter Greste and Canadian-Egyptian national Mohamed Fahmy, Cairo bureau chief of Al Jazeera English.<\/p>\n
The third defendant, Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed, was given an extra three years for possessing a single bullet at the hearing attended by Western diplomats, some of whose governments summoned Egypt’s ambassadors over the case.<\/p>\n
The men have been held at Egypt’s notorious Tora Prison for six months, with the case becoming a rallying point for rights groups and news organsiations around the world.<\/p>\n
They were detained in late December and charged with helping “a terrorist group” – a reference to the Muslim brotherhood – by broadcasting lies that harmed national security and supplying money, equipment and information to a group of Egyptians.<\/p>\n
The Brotherhood was banned and declared a terrorist group after the army deposed elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in July following mass protests against his rule. The Brotherhood says it is a peaceful organisation.<\/p>\n
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