Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed
Fahmy sues own channel for
negligence and supporting
blacklisted Islamist.

Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy
Journalist Mohamed Fahmy is suing his
employer Al Jazeera for $127 million.

An Al Jazeera journalist on retrial in Egypt has
sued his Qatari employer for $127 million,
claiming the satellite network was negligent and
supported blacklisted Islamists.
Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher
Mohamed were sentenced last year to up to 10
years in prison on charges of supporting the
Muslim Brotherhood movement in its coverage of
mass protests that led to the ouster of president
Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
An appeals court later ordered a retrial, saying the
lower court's verdict was not supported by
evidence.
Fahmy told the ABC World Today program he was
suing Al Jazeera "because they deceived us, they
were negligent and they lied to us and they need
to pay for hurting me and my team".
His Canadian lawyer Joanna Gislason said at a
Cairo news conference that her client had now
filed a case of "negligence" against the channel in
a Canadian court.
Fahmy has demanded "$US100 million ($127
million) for his detention and conviction" from the
network, she told reporters.
Fahmy and his Egyptian producer Mohamed were
freed on bail ahead of their retrial.
Greste has already been deported to Australia,
under a law allowing the transfer of foreigners on
trial to their home countries.
Greste, who is currently in London, said he was
not involved in the lawsuit.
He said he and the others who were jailed
remained on trial with "no evidence to
substantiate any of the charges", and he was
focused on that case.
Fahmy said he respected the decision not to sue
because Greste "was not fully aware of the nitty
gritty details".
"It's sad to see Fahmy and his lawyer repeating
criticisms of Al Jazeera made by the Egyptian
authorities," an Al Jazeera spokesman said.
"It's what his captors want to hear at this stage of
the retrial. All governments have news outlets
they don't like, but they don't use spurious
grounds to put journalists in jail.
"If Fahmy wants to seek monetary compensation
from anyone, it should be from his jailers."
The three journalists were arrested in December
2013 during a crackdown on supporters of Morsi,
who was ousted by then army chief and now
president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after mass protests
against his sole year of divisive rule.
Their first trial came against the backdrop of
strained ties between Egypt and Qatar, which
supported Morsi.
Egypt's authorities charged the three with
spreading "false news" during their coverage of
demonstrations, and also said they were working
without valid accreditation.
In a statement read out at the news conference,
Fahmy accused the network's now closed
Egyptian channel, Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr, of
aiding the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Al Jazeera Mubasher was a sponsor for the
Muslim Brotherhood and its equipment was used
by Muslim Brotherhood activists across the
country," said Fahmy, who has given up his
Egyptian citizenship to facilitate his deportation to
Canada.
Al Jazeera Mubasher was "not just biased, but
was a sponsor for the Muslim Brotherhood", he
said.
"Al Jazeera is one of the foreign arms of Qatar."
Fahmy's Egyptian lawyer Mohamed Hamouda said
his client had chosen Canada to file the lawsuit
because "he is seen as a traitor in Egypt" since
surrendering his citizenship.
"He is negatively perceived. That's why he filed
the case in Canadian courts," Ms Hamouda said.
ABC/AFP

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