Friends, family and lawyers expressed "shock" and "disappointment" on Saturday, when an Egyptian court sentenced Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy to three years in prison.
The decision came after two turbulent trials, both of which were widely condemned by the international community.
Fahmy was first arrested on terrorism charges in December 2013, and sentenced to seven years in prison that June. Six months later, an Egyptian court ordered a retrial. Fahmy was released on bail on Feb. 13, after more than 400 days in prison.
But on Saturday, the journalist’s brief spell of freedom came to an end.
After a delay-filled re-trial, Judge Hassan Farid found Fahmy guilty, sentencing him to three years in prison.
Fahmy’s brother, Adel Fahmy, said the journalist’s family was "absolutely devastated" by the result.
"No one had expected this." he told CTV News Channel on Sunday. "We expected a good final scene to this nightmare, but it drags on."
Fahmy’s wife, Marwa Omara, was similarly stunned.
"I’m extremely disappointed and devastated. I don’t know. I’m extremely in shock," she said. "We never expected that he would go (back) to prison."
Omara cried in the courthouse when the judge announced the verdict -- but she says didn’t have the chance to ask her husband how he was feeling.
According to Fahmy’s brother, the journalist was placed behind bars in the courthouse before the verdict was read, and police whisked him away shortly after.
"I didn’t get a chance to see him," Adel Fahmy said. "But I’m sure he’s shell-shocked by this."
Outside the courthouse, Fahmy’s international lawyers condemned the Egyptian legal process, calling the trial a political sham.
"It sent a message that journalists can be locked up for simply for telling the truth and reporting the news," Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney said. "And it sends a dangerous message that there are judges in Egypt that will allow their courts to become instruments of political repression."
Fahmy’s Canadian lawyer, Joanna Gilslason, said that if the Egyptian courts will not deliver justice, it is up to the Canadian government to step in.
"What we’ve seen with the court undermines any sense that anyone could have had that the rule of law is operating in Egypt," she said. "The place we’re at now is: we’re going to be looking at the Canadian government."
In a tweet on Saturday, Stephen Harper said the Canadian government will continue to fight for Fahmy’s release.
“Canada continues to call on Egypt for the immediate and full release of Mr. Fahmy, and full co-operation to facilitate his return home,” Harper said in the tweet.
Over Twitter, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau urged the Canadian government to do more to help the imprisoned journalist.
“We once again demand the Canadian government secure his immediate release to Canada,” Trudeau said in a tweet.
At a campaign event at the Jalsa Salana Islamic conference in Mississauga, Ont. on Saturday, Trudeau accused the Harper government of mishandling the Fahmy case and said the situation was an example of the Conservatives’ failure to stand up for those facing persecution and injustice.
“Too many people in our world are forced to flee from persecution … Canada needs to once again be a strong voice against that,” he said. “That means standing up for all Canadians and that includes picking up the phone for Mohamed Fahmy.”
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair also weighed in, tweeting that “Mr. Harper must seek a guarantee” from the Egyptian president regarding Fahmy’s release.
NDP Foreign Affairs critic Paul Dewar issued a statement in which he urged Harper to “take a break from electioneering” and seek a pardon for Fahmy.
Fahmy’s supporters are pushing for the federal government to deport the journalist and bring him back to his home country. Peter Greste, a co-worker who was sentenced alongside Fahmy, was deported back to Australia in February.
Following that, Fahmy gave up his dual-Egyptian citizenship, hoping that if he only held Canadian citizenship, he would also be allowed to leave the Middle East.
But instead, on Feb. 8, Egypt announced a second trial for Fahmy and Egyptian journalist Baher Mohamed.
Speaking to CTV, Gislason called on the Canadian government to end Fahmy’s lengthy ordeal.
"Our Prime Minister hasn’t actually picked up the phone and actually made the call," she said. "It must happen now."
"There’s only one way out, absolutely one way out, and that is deportation to Canada," Fahmy’s brother, Adel, said. "Canada has to pressure hard to get him out just as Australia did for his colleague Peter."
Then-Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird visited Cairo in January to speak with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, but the meeting did not secure Fahmy’s freedom.
In a statement, Lynne Yelich, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said the federal government is "disappointed with Mohamed Fahmy’s conviction."
"The Government of Canada continues to call on the Egyptian government to use all tools at its disposal to resolve Mr. Fahmy’s case and allow his immediate return to Canada," she said.
In the meantime, Omara says, she has been left waiting to find out when and where she can visit her husband, and if they’ll be able to follow through on their plans to move to Vancouver together.
"I didn’t even have the time to say goodbye to Mohamed," she said. "We had a plan to … go back to Canada and celebrate our marriage and live our life normally.
"I’m appealing to Mr. Harper to interfere and get us out from here."
With files from the Canadian Press
