Mohamed Fahmy case: 300 notable supporters ask Stephen Harper to help get journalist home
Letter asks Tory leader to intervene directly with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
In an open letter released today, nearly 300 prominent Canadians are asking Prime Minister Stephen Harper to act directly to help get jailed journalist Mohamed Fahmy released from an Egyptian prison.
- Egyptian court releases details of Fahmy ruling
- Fahmy's lawyer says Canada has formally applied for a pardon
- Fahmy, 2 other Al-Jazeera journalists sentenced to 3 years
The letter, dated Sept. 8, is signed by 301 people including:
- Former prime minister Paul Martin.
- Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour.
- Author Michael Ondaatje.
- Singer Jim Cuddy.
- Filmmaker Atom Egoyan.
- Scientist David Suzuki.
- Writer John Ralston Saul.
Many are members or officers of the Order of Canada. At least two are non-Canadians.
Fahmy, an Egyptian with Canadian citizenship, was sentenced Aug. 29 to three years in prison after an appeal of his earlier conviction failed. The charges are terror related and widely denounced as a sham.
"The world knows that Mr. Fahmy is an innocent man trapped in a political nightmare — that he is in prison simply for doing his job," the letter says.
It concludes: "We urge you, as Canada's Prime Minister, to communicate directly with President [el-Sisi] the need to have Mr. Fahmy returned home safely and swiftly. It goes to the very heart of what it means to be Canadian that we defend the rule of law and protect our fellow citizens from harm."
A copy of the letter is available here and on the website freefahmy.nationbuilder.com.
Fahmy was sentenced with his Al-Jazeera colleagues Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste.
Greste was deported to his native Australia earlier this year. It offered Fahmy supporters some hope he might be similarly released.
Many of those who signed the Harper letter are writers, academics and lawyers.
Others include:
- CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour.
- CBS 60 Minutes correspondent Lara Logan.
- Entertainer Rick Mercer.
- Torture victim Maher Arar.
- Filmmaker Sarah Polley.
- Musician Gord Downie.
- Author Camilla Gibb.
- Novelist Katherine Govier.
- Author Naomi Klein.
- Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.
