One of the three Al Jazeera journalists imprisoned in Egypt is reportedly suing his employer for $100m (around £64m) for alleged negligence and breach of contract.
According to Thomson Reuters, Mohamed Fahmy (pictured, centre – Reuters), who is Egyptian-Canadian, has filed the lawsuit against Al Jazeera in Canada.
The former Cairo bureau chief for Al Jazeera’s English network reportedly argues in the claim that the network’s failures resulted in him losing his freedom, severe pain, damaged professional reputation and anxiety and distress due to him losing his Egyptian citizenship. According to Reuters, Fahmy is a naturalised Canadian who gave up his Egyptian citizenship.
Fahmy, who spint more than 400 days in a Cairo jail charged with aiding a terrorist organisation, the Muslim Brotherhood, reportedly claims that Al Jazeera did not take account of the political and legal situation in the country.
He and Baher Mohamed, also an Al Jazeera journalist, were sentenced to between seven and ten years in prison. In January, a retrial for the two was ordered. The third, Peter Greste, was freed and deported earlier this year from prison.
After the Egyptian military overthrew the country’s president, Mohamed Mursi, the Muslim Brotherhood, which the president backed, was banned. But the group was publicly supported by Qatar, which is where Al Jazeera is based.
An Al Jazeera spokesman criticised Fahmy for “repeating criticisms of Al Jazeera made by the Egyptian authorities” and suggested he should be suing them instead.
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