CAIRO, Egypt -- The brother of an imprisoned Egyptian-Canadian journalist says a Cairo court has set a date to hear the appeal for Mohamed Fahmy and his two fellow colleagues.

Adel Fahmy says the scheduled court date is Jan. 1, 2015.

He says it's further away than the family had hoped for but the mere fact that it has been scheduled is a relief.

Mohamed Fahmy was working for Qatar-based satellite news broadcaster Al-Jazeera English when he was arrested in Cairo on Dec. 29 along with two colleagues -- Australian correspondent Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian producer.

After a trial which drew heavy international criticism, the trio were convicted in June on charges linked to aiding the Muslim Brotherhood group, which the Egyptian government has declared a terrorist organization.

Fahmy and Greste were sentenced to seven years in prison, while Mohamed was sentenced to 10 years.

Their sentences have been condemned world over.