3 Al Jazeera journalists sentenced to prison in Egypt

Egyptian court
(Image credit: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images)

An Egyptian court sentenced three Al Jazeera journalists to prison Saturday in a case sparking sharp criticism from human rights groups, Reuters reports. Canadian national Mohamed Fahmy, Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed, and Australian journalist Peter Greste all received three years in prison for operating without a press license and broadcasting "fake news." Mohamed's sentence is six months longer because he reportedly had a spent bullet casing at the time of his arrest.

The new verdict came a year after the men received sentences of seven to 10 years, which prompted an international outcry and a retrial order from Egypt's highest appeals court.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.