Jailed Aussie journo to learn fate

Verdict son. Al-Jazeera's Australian journalist Peter Greste (L) and Egyptian journalist Mohamed Baher stand inside the defendants cage during their trial for allegedly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

AUSTRALIAN journalist Peter Greste is to learn his fate on Monday, when an Egyptian court issues its verdict on charges of spreading false news and supporting former prime minister Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is attempting to contact Egypt's new president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to lobby for the release of Greste.

Greste and two other reporters working for Qatar-based Al Jazeera English news network were arrested in December, and put on trial, in a case that has sparked international outrage.

If convicted, the award-winning Australian journalist faces at least 15 years in jail.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she had spoken overnight with recently appointed Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukri, and Mr Abbott was seeking similar contact with Mr Sisi.

"Our prime minister rang the interim president and I know he is seeking to make contact with the new president, President al-Sisi," Ms Bishop told ABC Television.

"So we are making representations at every level in the Egyptian government with a view to ensuring Peter Greste is home as soon as possible."

On trial ... A May photo of, from left, Mohammed Fahmy, Canadian-Egyptian acting bureau chief of Al-Jazeera, Australian correspondent Peter Greste, and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed in the defendant's cage in court in Cairo. Picture: AP Source: AP

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Greste's father Juris has said if his son was cleared they would "try and get him out as quickly as possible", although his ­return to Australia would depend on "many factors".

"As you can imagine, somebody who has spent six months in a foreign prison under very difficult conditions can't just pack up and go straight home," Mr Greste said. "It takes some kind of decompression, metaphorically speaking, and how that will work out remains to be (seen)."

Peter's mother Lois said she was feeling "anxious" but was glad to learn a date had been set for the verdict.

"It means we are nearing the end," she said.

Last week, an Al-Jazeera Arabic journalist who had been on hunger strike for more than four months to protest his prolonged detention without charges in Egypt has been released in Cairo, giving hope to supporters of Mr Greste.

Anxious...Peter Greste's family Lois, Andrew and Juris Greste, with Kylie and Brendan in the back in Melbourne. Picture: Annette Dew Source: News Corp Australia

Abdullah Elshamy, 26, walked free late Tuesday evening to cheers and hugs from family members, as well as dozens of friends and supporters. His mother, wife and brothers met him outside a police station in a northern Cairo suburb.

Egypt's prosecutor general had ordered his release, citing "health conditions" after 10 months in jail without charges.

Elshamy, once a chubby young man, looked gaunt and frail, and sported a bushy beard as he left the station in Nasr City, still dressed in a prison uniform.

"I have won," he told reporters, despite pressure from prison authorities to end his strike, including keeping him in solitary confinement. "I have lost 45 kilograms but I was certain that God will make me victorious."

Freed ... Egyptian Al-Jazeera journalist Abdullah Elshamy is released from detention due to poor health, after five months on a hunger strike. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

The case has caused an outcry among journalists and rights groups, who say their prosecution was politicised and undermines freedom of expression in Egypt.

The prosecution was a reflection of the tension between Egyptian authorities and the network. The Egyptian government accuses Al-Jazeera of being biased toward Islamists. The network denies the allegations against it and its detained staffers.

Elshamy had been held since August without charges when he was swept up with other protesters following the violent dispersal of a pro-Morsi sit-in that left hundreds dead.

Al-Jazeera welcomed his coming release.

"This is a relief rather than a cause for celebration. Abdullah has been through a terrible ordeal for over 10 months," the statement issued early Monday said. The network called for the release of the three other journalists on trial.

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