Peter Greste. Photo: ABC\/Twitter: @PeterGreste <\/p>\n
Detained Australian journalist Peter Greste has released a letter vowing to fight for freedom of speech in Egypt after being jailed for reporting on unrest in the country. <\/p>\n
The award-winning Al Jazeera reporter was arrested in Cairo on December 29 along with colleagues Mohamed Adel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed. <\/p>\n
The trio had been reporting on the political turmoil in Egypt when they were accused of holding illegal meetings with the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). <\/p>\n
Egypt's military-installed leaders declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation in December, and had previously accused Al Jazeera of pro-Brotherhood coverage. <\/p>\n
The Al Jazeera network, however, has emphatically defended its staff's actions, saying they were doing their job by reporting objectively. <\/p>\n
Greste, who is being held in Cairo's Tora prison, says Egyptian authorities are cracking down on anyone \"who refuses to applaud the institution\". <\/p>\n
Greste says he had originally planned to fight for his freedom \"quietly\", in part not to risk the precious little recreational time he was given. <\/p>\n
However, he now says acquiescence on his behalf would validate the Egyptian authorities' \"attack\" on freedom of speech. <\/p>\n
\"I have sought, until now, to fight my imprisonment quietly from within, to make the authorities understand that this is all a terrible mistake - that I've been caught in the middle of a political struggle that is not my own,\" Greste writes in the letter, which has been authenticated by his parents. <\/p>\n
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Peter Greste declares battle for freedom of speech in Egypt after prolonged detention<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Peter Greste. Continue reading