Brother of Mohamed Fahmy lashes out at John Baird and Canada's handling of his case

Last week, the family of jailed Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahm were so convinced of his immediate release from an Egyptian prison that his fiancée was shopping for a plane ticket to Canada, and a Toronto hotel room was booked in anticipation of a press conference upon his arrival. 

But today, Fahmy -- who was working as the bureau chief for Al Jazeera English when he was arrested more than 400 days ago -- remains behind bars in Cairo. And instead of making plans for his freedom, he is just hours away from an uncertain retrial that has the potential to prolong his imprisonment indefinitely.

"He's very angry," Fahmy's brother, Adel, tells As it Happens. "He's shocked that he has to go through all this again." Fahmy was previously sentenced to eight years in prison after he, along with three Al Jazeera colleagues, interviewed supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. 

Fahmy's freedom seemed almost certain last week after former foreign minister John Baird stated that his release was "imminent," and after news emerged that the dual Egyptian-Canadian citizen renounced his Egyptian citizenship, which would allow for his deportation under Egyptian law, as happened with Australian Al Jazeera reporter Peter Greste.

After hearing Baird's remarks, Fahmy's fiancée quit her job in Cairo, packed bags for herself Fahmy and his Egyptian mother, and was shopping for plane tickets to Toronto. His brother, Adel, flew in from Kuwait. And their lawyer, Amal Clooney planned to meet the family for a press conference in Toronto, where Fahmy said he planned to speak. 
All the while, Adel Fahmy says that Canadian consular officials were assuring the family that his release had been secured with Egyptian officials, and that it was days, possibly hours away.

In retrospect, Adel Fahmy says that Baird's comment last week may have helped stall his brother's release. "[Baird] should not have said it out in the open and embarrassed the Egyptians."

"What we understand is that we've done everything the way that it's supposed to happen," says Adel Fahmy. "We followed all the steps."

"We understand that [the] Canadian consular team here did not follow up and pressure the Egyptian government to expedite and seal the deal. This is what we're getting from all the Egyptian officials here."

In response to the delay in Fahmy's release, Clooney wrote to Prime Minister Harper, complaining of the lack of Canada's lacklustre engagement with the case. "Currently discussions are taking place at a lower-than-ministerial level on this case, which is not appropriate given the urgency of the matter today," she writes in the letter, dated February 8.   
Baird flew to Egypt last month and met with his Egyptian counterpart, while also pledging $20 million to support economic growth in Egypt. 

"This is not just an insult to my brother," says Adel Fahmey in the interview with As it Happens. "This is an insult to all Canadians."