7 ms·

Al Jazeera journalists sentenced to seven years in jail in Egypt

68 points by tvwonline 12y ago

dingdingdang 12y ago
"Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in jail by a judge and Baher Mohamed was sentenced to 10 years. Three other journalists who were tried in absentia were handed 10-year sentences." All for supposedly 'spreading false news'...
1egyptian 12y ago
Egyptian here. Puzzles me how such a piece gets all the attention, while hundreds of other Egyptians sentenced to death, and other thousands killed in peaceful protests do not get nearly as much coverage.. Oh, an Australian
- arethuza 12y ago
  FWIW the death sentences passed on 183 people in Egypt did get a lot of coverage and condemnation here in the UK. I wouldn't read too much into stuff being picked up here on HN - it is pretty random.
  - mantraxC 12y ago
    So how many people's lives were saved by this coverage and condemnation, that's the real question. I don't think some country's ruler gives a damn about coverage and condemnation, as long as it stops there.
    - harry8 12y ago
      With respect I disagree. The most metallic of tinpot despots still believes themselves to be righteous and want to be loved and admired. Amnesty International's experience is that such rulers care sufficiently when a bunch of ordinary people write them letters for that to be a worthwhile thing to do in support of political prisoners. Worthwhile along useful dimensions like stopping torture and so on.
- harry8 12y ago
  A foreign journalist working for a news organisation with a pretty good reputation. Generally that's news wherever it happens in the world. I haven't been following what has happened in Egypt. I now know it has become a place where foreign journalists working for Al-Jazeera are sentenced to prison when those in power don't like the reported stories. I'm sure there's a lot more nuance than that and it's a view through a straw at the country but it's not a good sign for Egypt. From spring straight to winter?
  - adobriyan 12y ago
    > From spring straight to winter? That would be Ukraine, where two Russian journalists were killed recently during bombing of Lugansk.
    - rwissmann 12y ago
      The death of journalists during intense fighting is - while extremely tragic and hopefully rare - not at all comparable to them getting sentenced by courts for simply reporting news. The former is to some degree unavoidable (if they got target specifically then everything changes), while the latter is an explicit act of government against freedom of press and speech.
  - rwallace 12y ago
    I've been following enough of what's happened in Egypt that I can tell you this is the least of the bad news from there; spring passed straight to winter quite a while ago. In short, foreign interference in Egypt - in the Middle East in general - in recent years has been an unmitigated disaster. It's long past time we in the West started minding our own business and focused on fixing the problems in our own countries instead of exacerbating the problems in other people's countries.
- tsarzen 12y ago
  This is a big story because the death sentence sends a message to the world that foreign journalists risk their life just for reporting the news in Egypt. It suggests that Egypt is heading towards a closed, non-democratic future and could pose a significant risk to other countries. This piece is from an Aussie news site, so obviously it will highlight that the journo was Australian. But the bigger story is that - despite the revolution - Egypt is still a long way from being open and free. Also as an aside, it also sends a big message to the business world: "Don't invest in Egypt - it's not safe for foreigners." Egypt is a beautiful country with great people. I hope they can overcome this.
  - madeofpalk 12y ago
    Australia, on the other hand, is 'open for business'
    - tsarzen 12y ago
      Haha.. let's not go down the rabbit hole of Australia's current political situation.
    - jpatokal 12y ago
      Downvoters unfamiliar with Oz politics: This is a mildly notorious political catchphrase, not too far off from "Mission accomplished" in the US. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/election-2013/abbott-claims-victory-and-says-australia-is-open-for-business/story-fn9qr68y-1226714414009 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/election-20...
      - madeofpalk 12y ago
        I prefered the D-Day kerfuffle http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/02/tony-abbott-video-d-day-open-for-business http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/02/tony-abbott-vid...
        chris_wot 12y ago
- icebraining 12y ago
  For what it's worth, The Daily Show has been covering Egypt fairly regularly, including having Gihan Ibrahim as a guest earlier this month.
- davidw 12y ago
  Actually, this article should not really even be here as it's about politics/current events: http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - chris_wot 12y ago
    It gratifies the average hacker's intellectual curiosity.
    - davidw 12y ago
      That seems pretty dubious to me. Despotic regimes behaving badly is not really new or "interesting" to much of anyone. It's interesting because it's a current event, which means it should not be here.
      - chris_wot 12y ago
        Maybe not new, but definitely interesting. You're far too cynical.
        davidw 12y ago
        This kind of thing goes on all the time, all over the world, to varying degrees. It's definitely something I'd read about in The Economist, but it's not at all "intellectually gratifying", and is off topic as a political current event for this site. It's about as intellectually gratifying as the latest world cup results, but maybe not as much as Andrew Talansky's recent victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné, which was accomplished with daring tactics and great racing.
        chris_wot 12y ago
        And yet, it has made its way to the front page.
        12y ago
- chris_wot 12y ago
  Perhaps that's because those overseas journalists who report these things have been put in jail for 7 years. Oh. Overseas free press.
- eaurouge 12y ago
  Actually, since the Arab Spring, the United States media (at least) has devoted a disproportionate amount of attention on events in Egypt. While the covered topics are newsworthy and, in my opinion should be covered, most global events and countries don't receive the same level of attention.
- antimagic 12y ago
  I don't get it - would you prefer that Australia doesn't report on the Egyptian government suppressing free speech? As to why this story rises to the top in the international press, it's because it's a bit meta - when you have free press in your country, other countries can leave the reporting of internal affairs to the local media. The loss of this internal check and balance is an important event on an international scale, whereas, quite frankly, the sentencing of death to Egyptians by their courts isn't.
- pstop 12y ago
  Egyptians putting Egyptians on trial has almost nothing to do with the rest of the world. It's Egyptians doing it to themselves, and really isn't our concern anymore than it is your concern for how we sentence drug crime here. Besides, An African or Middle Eastern country doing something stupid is so common place, it's simply not news anymore. Regardless, it would be bigger news if a western country jailed an Egyptian for telling false news. Reporters are still sacred for a while longer in the west, and to imprison a reporter goes beyond a chilling effect.
amrrs 12y ago
Politics in Hacker News? http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- Killah911 12y ago
  This isn't exactly politics is it? It certainly is about geopolitical event, but not quite one party vs another.
  - 1stop 12y ago
    Because we all agree that we hate republicans... I mean egypt? It's political, but it's not US politics, so it seems to pass the 'not political' HN test. Odd, but seems true from my experience.
    - Killah911 12y ago
      If the US were putting journalists in Jail, it would be equally relevant. Geo politics, yes, as in whatever is going on between Egypt & Qatar. But I'm interested whenever folks like journalists, artists etc are targeted. Snowden was all over HN & you might argues that's political too, but relevant to this community nevertheless.
  - amrrs 12y ago
    Doesn't it fall under Political? If so isn't it Off-Topic?
    - Killah911 12y ago
      Might fall under political events, but still relevant to the community here IMHO
- pstop 12y ago
  This isn't politics, it's world events. It's also of interest to the HN community. Seriously, stop making these comments.

68 points by tvwonline 12y ago

"Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in jail by a judge and Baher Mohamed was sentenced to 10 years. Three other journalists who were tried in absentia were handed 10-year sentences." All for supposedly 'spreading false news'...

1egyptian 12y ago

Egyptian here. Puzzles me how such a piece gets all the attention, while hundreds of other Egyptians sentenced to death, and other thousands killed in peaceful protests do not get nearly as much coverage.. Oh, an Australian

arethuza 12y ago
FWIW the death sentences passed on 183 people in Egypt did get a lot of coverage and condemnation here in the UK. I wouldn't read too much into stuff being picked up here on HN - it is pretty random.
- mantraxC 12y ago
  So how many people's lives were saved by this coverage and condemnation, that's the real question. I don't think some country's ruler gives a damn about coverage and condemnation, as long as it stops there.
  - harry8 12y ago
    With respect I disagree. The most metallic of tinpot despots still believes themselves to be righteous and want to be loved and admired. Amnesty International's experience is that such rulers care sufficiently when a bunch of ordinary people write them letters for that to be a worthwhile thing to do in support of political prisoners. Worthwhile along useful dimensions like stopping torture and so on.
harry8 12y ago
A foreign journalist working for a news organisation with a pretty good reputation. Generally that's news wherever it happens in the world. I haven't been following what has happened in Egypt. I now know it has become a place where foreign journalists working for Al-Jazeera are sentenced to prison when those in power don't like the reported stories. I'm sure there's a lot more nuance than that and it's a view through a straw at the country but it's not a good sign for Egypt. From spring straight to winter?
- adobriyan 12y ago
  > From spring straight to winter? That would be Ukraine, where two Russian journalists were killed recently during bombing of Lugansk.
  - rwissmann 12y ago
    The death of journalists during intense fighting is - while extremely tragic and hopefully rare - not at all comparable to them getting sentenced by courts for simply reporting news. The former is to some degree unavoidable (if they got target specifically then everything changes), while the latter is an explicit act of government against freedom of press and speech.
- rwallace 12y ago
  I've been following enough of what's happened in Egypt that I can tell you this is the least of the bad news from there; spring passed straight to winter quite a while ago. In short, foreign interference in Egypt - in the Middle East in general - in recent years has been an unmitigated disaster. It's long past time we in the West started minding our own business and focused on fixing the problems in our own countries instead of exacerbating the problems in other people's countries.
tsarzen 12y ago
This is a big story because the death sentence sends a message to the world that foreign journalists risk their life just for reporting the news in Egypt. It suggests that Egypt is heading towards a closed, non-democratic future and could pose a significant risk to other countries. This piece is from an Aussie news site, so obviously it will highlight that the journo was Australian. But the bigger story is that - despite the revolution - Egypt is still a long way from being open and free. Also as an aside, it also sends a big message to the business world: "Don't invest in Egypt - it's not safe for foreigners." Egypt is a beautiful country with great people. I hope they can overcome this.
- madeofpalk 12y ago
  Australia, on the other hand, is 'open for business'
  - tsarzen 12y ago
    Haha.. let's not go down the rabbit hole of Australia's current political situation.
  - jpatokal 12y ago
    Downvoters unfamiliar with Oz politics: This is a mildly notorious political catchphrase, not too far off from "Mission accomplished" in the US. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/election-2013/abbott-claims-victory-and-says-australia-is-open-for-business/story-fn9qr68y-1226714414009 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/election-20...
    - madeofpalk 12y ago
      I prefered the D-Day kerfuffle http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/02/tony-abbott-video-d-day-open-for-business http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/02/tony-abbott-vid...
      - chris_wot 12y ago
icebraining 12y ago
For what it's worth, The Daily Show has been covering Egypt fairly regularly, including having Gihan Ibrahim as a guest earlier this month.
davidw 12y ago
Actually, this article should not really even be here as it's about politics/current events: http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- chris_wot 12y ago
  It gratifies the average hacker's intellectual curiosity.
  - davidw 12y ago
    That seems pretty dubious to me. Despotic regimes behaving badly is not really new or "interesting" to much of anyone. It's interesting because it's a current event, which means it should not be here.
    - chris_wot 12y ago
      Maybe not new, but definitely interesting. You're far too cynical.
      - davidw 12y ago
        This kind of thing goes on all the time, all over the world, to varying degrees. It's definitely something I'd read about in The Economist, but it's not at all "intellectually gratifying", and is off topic as a political current event for this site. It's about as intellectually gratifying as the latest world cup results, but maybe not as much as Andrew Talansky's recent victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné, which was accomplished with daring tactics and great racing.
        chris_wot 12y ago
        And yet, it has made its way to the front page.
        12y ago
chris_wot 12y ago
Perhaps that's because those overseas journalists who report these things have been put in jail for 7 years. Oh. Overseas free press.
eaurouge 12y ago
Actually, since the Arab Spring, the United States media (at least) has devoted a disproportionate amount of attention on events in Egypt. While the covered topics are newsworthy and, in my opinion should be covered, most global events and countries don't receive the same level of attention.
antimagic 12y ago
I don't get it - would you prefer that Australia doesn't report on the Egyptian government suppressing free speech? As to why this story rises to the top in the international press, it's because it's a bit meta - when you have free press in your country, other countries can leave the reporting of internal affairs to the local media. The loss of this internal check and balance is an important event on an international scale, whereas, quite frankly, the sentencing of death to Egyptians by their courts isn't.
pstop 12y ago
Egyptians putting Egyptians on trial has almost nothing to do with the rest of the world. It's Egyptians doing it to themselves, and really isn't our concern anymore than it is your concern for how we sentence drug crime here. Besides, An African or Middle Eastern country doing something stupid is so common place, it's simply not news anymore. Regardless, it would be bigger news if a western country jailed an Egyptian for telling false news. Reporters are still sacred for a while longer in the west, and to imprison a reporter goes beyond a chilling effect.

amrrs 12y ago

Politics in Hacker News? http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Killah911 12y ago
This isn't exactly politics is it? It certainly is about geopolitical event, but not quite one party vs another.
- 1stop 12y ago
  Because we all agree that we hate republicans... I mean egypt? It's political, but it's not US politics, so it seems to pass the 'not political' HN test. Odd, but seems true from my experience.
  - Killah911 12y ago
    If the US were putting journalists in Jail, it would be equally relevant. Geo politics, yes, as in whatever is going on between Egypt & Qatar. But I'm interested whenever folks like journalists, artists etc are targeted. Snowden was all over HN & you might argues that's political too, but relevant to this community nevertheless.
- amrrs 12y ago
  Doesn't it fall under Political? If so isn't it Off-Topic?
  - Killah911 12y ago
    Might fall under political events, but still relevant to the community here IMHO
pstop 12y ago
This isn't politics, it's world events. It's also of interest to the HN community. Seriously, stop making these comments.