Keep up the Pressure to Free Al Jazeera Journalists

It is great news that for once the rumours proved to be true and that Peter Greste, an Australian former colleague of mine at the BBC, currently employed by Al Jazeera, has indeed been released after 400 days in a Cairo jail. He is now returning home to join his family. However his Arab colleagues Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed still remain behind bars. Their only “crime” is that they were doing their job, reporting on events in Egypt at the time that President Mohamed Morsi was overthrown in a military coup. The trial was a travesty and although it got a lot of international media coverage thanks to my friend Patrick Kingsley of the Guardian and others, foreign governments did not do enough to pressure the Egyptians to release all the journalists. I fear that now the Egyptian government will revel in its perceived “humanity” in releasing and deporting the foreigner Peter, but we must not forget those who remain behind. Freedom of the media — and of expression generally — is under huge pressure right across the Middle East, including in countries that are seen as firm allies of the West. The moral authority of nations such as the UK and the United States can only thrive when it stands up for its liberal principles — which means London, Washington and other capitals need to be making clear that authoritarian regimes cannot expect political, financial and military support unless they respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.