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An Egyptian court on Thursday accepted an appeal against the sentence handed to three jailed Al- Jazeera journalists and a retrial will be scheduled, Ahram Online reported.
Egyptian-Canadian Mohammed Fahmy, who served as Al-Jazeera's Cairo bureau chief, Australian journalist Peter Greste, and Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed were arrested in December 2013 on charges of providing material support to the Muslim Brotherhood, and "producing fabricated coverage of events in Egypt" to support its aims.
Last June, a Cairo criminal court sentenced the three to seven years in jail for spreading false information aiding the now outlawed Brotherhood group. Mohamed got an additional three years for weapons possession.
Ties between Egypt and Qatar, where Al-Jazeera is headquartered, deteriorated after then army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Mohamed Morsi and outlawed his power base, the Muslim Brotherhood, which was backed by Qatar, on July 3, 2013 following mass protests against Morsi's rule.
Qatar repeatedly denounced the Islamist president's removal and provided shelter for Brotherhood members who fled Egypt yet facing trials over violence and murder charges.
A thaw in relations came last month with the mediation Saudi Arabia. A special envoy of the Qatari emir visited Cairo on Dec. 20.
Qatar said it was interested in reviving strong relations with Egypt and working on developing the interests of the two countries, asserting its full support for Egypt, adding "the security of Egypt means the security of Qatar."
Two days later, Al-Jazeera announced the closure of its Egyptian channel, which was described by the Egyptian authorities as the mouthpiece of the Brotherhood.
Last November, Sisi, who was sworn in as Egyptian president in June, issued a decree allowing for the deportation of foreigners sentenced to prison or on trial. Enditem
