Mohamed Fahmy wants to know why Canada hasn't done more to free him

Mohamed Fahmy says he faced a lot of dark moments during the 412 days he spent inside an Egyptian prison. But one of the worst moments came only last week when he learned that, instead of returning to Canada, he would have to stand trial all over again.

"I thought I was counting the hours to get out of prison," Fahmy tells As it Happens host Carol Off "Suddenly it's like being hit by a train."

Fahmy is one of thee Al Jazeera journalists who were imprisoned on terrorism charges and sentenced to between seven and ten years in prison. Following international pressure, Australian national Peter Greste was deported two weeks ago. Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed were released Friday on bail, pending a retrial of their case.
Fahmy, who was a dual Egyptian-Canadian citizen, says that he was persuaded to surrender his Egyptian citizenship after being promised that, under a new Egyptian law, he would be deported back to Canada and set free. 

"Next thing I know is that I am facing the trial again. And it was really devastating to find myself back in a cage again." 
"Canada had an exit for me that they did not really handle so well," says Fahmy, adding that former foreign affairs minister John Baird may have mishandled his case, and that Prime Minister Harper should have contacted the Egyptian president directly. "I believe a quick engagement with a phone call would really make a difference in my situation."
 
A letter signed by 250 Canadians, including Stephen Lewis and Michael Ondaatje, urges the Prime Minister to intervene "personally and immediately" on behalf of Fahmy's case.

"I'd like to just close this case and move on with my life," says Fahmy, who is hoping to return to Canada with his his fiancée. "In prison you have a lot of time to think....I've seen myself already walking on the board walk in Vancouver and showing my fiancée all the beautiful sights and the scenery."

"I want to take a step back from the front line of journalism and maybe write a column," says Fahmy, who is also writing a book with Greste about their ordeal. "The Middle East is a very hard place to endure at the moment."