Peter Greste

Peter Greste

Greste with his Peabody Award for the documentary Somalia: Land of Anarchy
Born (1965-12-01) 1 December 1965
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[1]
Residence Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality Latvian Australian
Citizenship Australia
Latvia
Occupation Journalist

Peter Greste (born 1 December 1965)[2] is a Latvian-Australian journalist and correspondent. He has worked as a correspondent for Reuters, CNN and the BBC, predominantly in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

On 29 December 2013, Greste and two other Al Jazeera English journalists, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, were arrested by Egyptian authorities.[3] On 23 June 2014, Greste was found guilty by the court, and sentenced to seven years of incarceration.[4]

On 1 February 2015, a month after a retrial of Greste, Fahmy and Mohammad was announced, Greste was deported and flown to Cyprus. His colleagues were released on bail on 12 February 2015.

Early life

Greste's ancestry is Latvian.[1] He was born in Sydney, Australia and has two younger brothers.[5] He is a dual citizen of Australia and Latvia.[6] He graduated in journalism studies from the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane.[5]

Career

From 1991 to 1995, Greste was based in London, Bosnia and South Africa, where he worked for Reuters, CNN, WTN and the BBC. In 1995, he was based in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was a correspondent for the BBC and Reuters, after which he was based in Belgrade for a year, where he was a correspondent for Reuters. He then returned to London, where he worked for BBC News 24. He was then based in Mexico, then Santiago, as a correspondent for the BBC.[7] He returned to Afghanistan in 2001 to cover the start of the war. After Afghanistan, he worked across the Middle East and Latin America. From 2004, he was based in Mombasa, Kenya, then Johannesburg, South Africa, followed by Nairobi, Kenya, where he has lived since 2009. In 2011, he won a Peabody Award for a documentary on Somalia. He is a correspondent for Al Jazeera English in Africa.[8][9]

Egyptian trial

Greste was arrested in Cairo with colleagues at the end of December 2013. The interior ministry said the journalists were accused of news reporting which was "damaging to national security".[10] Greste was imprisoned in Egypt in solitary confinement for a month before any formal charges were made.[11] On 29 January, it emerged that the Egyptian authorities were to charge 20 Al Jazeera journalists, including Greste, of falsifying news and having a negative impact on overseas perceptions of the country.[12] His colleagues, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, are also imprisoned; the three men were being held in the same cell in early February 2014.[13] The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has urged the authorities in Egypt to "promptly release" the Al Jazeera staff they are holding in custody.[14]

On 21 February, Greste was refused bail and had his court case adjourned until 5 March.[15]

On 31 March, he and co-defendants Mohammed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed made a request to a judge during a hearing to be released.[3] During the hearing Greste told the judge: "The idea that I could have an association with the Muslim Brotherhood is frankly preposterous."[3]

On 23 June, Greste was found guilty by the court, and sentenced to seven years in prison. Mohammed Fahmy also received seven years and Baher Mohamed received a sentence of ten years in prison.[16] International reaction was swift and negative. US Secretary of State John Kerry was highly critical of the sentences of Greste and his co-workers, terming them "chilling and draconian" and noted he had spoken to Egyptian governmental officials including President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.[17] Al-Sisi however was unmoved. A day after the trial, and amidst the widespread international condemnation, the Egyptian president declared that he would not interfere with judicial rulings.[18]

Greste and his colleagues were seen internationally as political prisoners due to the nature of the trial, the lack of applicable evidence presented and the sentences.[19]

On 1 January 2015 the Court of Cassation announced a retrial for Greste and his colleagues. Release on bail was not permitted.[20] On 1 February, Greste was deported to Australia. The Egyptian law allowing the deportation of foreigners stipulates that they face prison or trial in their home country, but Australia is not likely to uphold Greste's conviction.[21] Otherwise, no explanation was given for his release.[22]

Aftermath

On 19 February 2015 Greste along with Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed won a special Royal Television Society award for their sacrifices to journalism. Greste accepted the award in London for the three. On 29 August, an Egyptian court sentenced Peter Greste and his colleagues to another three years in prison, with Baher Mohamed being sentenced to an additional six months. Greste will avoid imprisonment because he was deported to Australia in February. He was tried in absentia. [23] Less than a month later, on 23 September 2015, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were pardoned by Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. Greste received the news of his colleagues' release while filming a segment for ABC Television in front of a live studio audience, and his reaction was caught on camera.[24]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Ojārs Greste (2010). "Austrālijas latvietis iesakņojies Āfrikā". Laikraksts Latvietis (in Latvian).
  2. ↑ Colvin, Mark (1 December 2014). "Peter Greste spends 49th birthday in Cairo prison". PM (ABC Radio). Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Canadian journalist asks Egyptian judge to free him: ‘I ask for acquittal’". Toronto Star (Thestar.com). 30 April 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Secretary Kerry: Prison sentences for Al Jazeera reporters 'deeply disturbing set-back' for Egypt". Big News Network. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  5. 1 2 Fletcher, Clare (12 April 2015). "Peter Greste - the man behind the headlines". The Walkley Foundation. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Peter Greste calls on Tony Abbott to speak out for imprisoned journalists". The Guardian. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "Dispatches – Peter Greste". The Digital Journalist. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  8. ↑ "Peter Greste: Biography". Crossing Continents (BBC News). 31 March 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  9. ↑ Listening Post. "Peter Greste – Al Jazeera Blogs". Blogs.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  10. ↑ "Egypt crisis: Al-Jazeera journalists arrested in Cairo". BBC News. 30 December 2013.
  11. ↑ Peter Greste (25 January 2014). "Peter Greste's letters from Egyptian jail". theguardian.com.
  12. ↑ Patrick Kingsley (29 January 2014). "Egypt to charge al-Jazeera journalists with damaging country's reputation". The Guardian.
  13. ↑ Paul Farrell (5 February 2014). "Peter Greste and two al-Jazeera colleagues moved to same cell". The Guardian.
  14. ↑ "UN urges Egypt to release foreign journalists, including Peter Greste". The guardian. Australian Associated Press. 1 February 2014.
  15. ↑ "Egyptian court adjourns trial of Australian journalist Peter Greste". ABC News. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  16. ↑ "Peter Greste trial: Al Jazeera journalist found guilty". ABC Online (Australia). 23 June 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "Egypt trial: Outcry over al-Jazeera trio's sentencing". BBC News. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  18. ↑ "Egypt's president says will not interfere in judicial rulings". Reuters. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  19. ↑ "Egypt's press freedom on retrial". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Peter Greste: Appeals court in Egypt orders retrial in case of Australian journalist". Australian Broad Casting Corporation. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015. An Egyptian appeals court has ordered a retrial in the case of Australian journalist Peter Greste and two of his Al Jazeera colleagues.
  21. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/02/world/africa/egypt-releases-and-deportsal-jazeera-journalist-from-australia.html?_r=0
  22. ↑ Greste released and deported
  23. ↑ "Al Jazeera journalists Peter Greste, Mohammed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed sentenced to at least three years' jail". 30 August 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  24. ↑ "Peter Greste receives news of al-Jazeera journalist's pardon – video".

External links

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