Canadian Al-Jazeera English journalist Mohamed Fahmy, pauses during an interview with The Associated Press in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015.Hassan Ammar/The Associated Press
Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy says Al Jazeera contributed to his plight in Egypt by interfering during last year's trial and failing to cover many of his expenses when he hired his own lawyers.
In an opinion piece submitted to The Globe and Mail, Mr. Fahmy said he is thankful for the global campaign Al Jazeera initiated to free him and his colleagues, and insisted he had not lost sight of the Egyptian prosecution that "unjustly put me behind bars." But he said the news organization also contributed to the journalists' ordeal and that he wants to make his concerns public while he is still free to do so.
Mr. Fahmy was released on bail last month after he and two colleagues, Australian Peter Greste and Egyptian Baher Mohamed, spent more than a year in detention on charges of "spreading false news" to aid the banned Muslim Brotherhood. His conviction was thrown out earlier this year, but he has been unable to leave the country as he awaits the next stage of his retrial.
Mr. Fahmy said he learned during his detention that Mr. Mohamed had confessed "under duress" to allegations that Al Jazeera was assisting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He said he wrote about the issue from prison in a letter to senior Al Jazeera managers and demanded that the testimony be challenged in court.
"All we had to do was ask the judge to question Baher again in court, citing duress during the initial interrogation," Mr. Fahmy writes in the op-ed. "I also asked management to display in court video reports we produced that would dismiss Baher's allegations."
Mr. Fahmy said an Al Jazeera security representative relayed the message that the confession would "disappear." In addition, he said he later learned Al Jazeera had instructed the lawyer representing Mr. Mohamed and Mr. Greste not to challenge the confession in court.
Al Jazeera said in a statement that both assertions are false.
Tariq Al-Abdulla, the company's general legal counsel, said Al Jazeera did everything it could to prevent the arrests and that its legal team secured "real progress" for all three journalists. His statement was sent in response to questions from The Globe.
"We've done our best in an extremely challenging situation to end this ordeal, and did everything possible on safety and security to avoid the jailings in the first place – the severity of which no one could have predicted," Mr. Al-Abdulla said. "The innocent parties ought to be united at this sensitive stage of the retrial in order to maintain the positive momentum that will end this injustice."
Mr. Fahmy wrote that Al Jazeera managers defending the company's actions have been "parroting" instructions from its chairman, Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani.
Relations between Egypt and Qatar have been fraught since the 2013 overthrow of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood government. Doha harboured some of the previous government's leaders after the coup, and Cairo accused Qatar-owned Al Jazeera of generating propaganda for the Muslim Brotherhood.
"The verdict killed two birds with one stone," Mr. Fahmy wrote. "Egypt sent a clear message to my fellow reporters to toe the government's line, and delivered a punch in the face to Qatar for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood."
Mr. Fahmy added that he was not satisfied with Al Jazeera's choice of lawyers and sought his own representation. His lawyers, including renowned human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, waived portions of their legal fees, he said, but he nonetheless he had to rely on his family and supporters to help pay the remainder.
In a follow-up interview with The Globe, Mr. Fahmy said the network reimbursed him for 7 per cent of his overall legal fees. The Al Jazeera statement said the company is covering 100 per cent of Mr. Fahmy's Egyptian legal fees. The amount reimbursed by Al Jazeera does not include Ms. Clooney's fees.
The three journalists were arrested in December, 2013. Mr. Greste was released last month under a presidential decree that allows foreigners accused or convicted of crimes to be deported, but Mr. Fahmy and Mr. Mohamed must participate in the retrial, which will resume on March 8.
Mr. Fahmy, who held Egyptian and Canadian citizenship until recently, gave up his Egyptian status to qualify for deportation. His supporters had hoped he would be released before the retrial began.