Mohamed Fahmy
Mohamed Fadel Fahmy (Arabic: محمد فاضل فهمي pronounced [mæˈħæmmæd ˈfɑːdˤel ˈfæhmi]; born April 27, 1974) is a Canadian-Egyptian journalist. He was born in Cairo. Fahmy was in prison in Egypt for two years.[1] When he came out, he started the Fahmy Foundation for free speech.[2]
Work[change | change source]
Mohamed Fahmy was a producer for CNN and a writer for the Los Angeles Times. He was also the Cairo bureau chief for Al-Jazeera's English channel.[1]
Arrest[change | change source]
Fahmy was arrested on December 29, 2013 with two other journalists, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste, in their hotel in Cairo. This was after General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi became president of Egypt. Sisi replaced the elected president, Mohammed Morsi, of the Muslim Brotherhood. The three reporters were accused of helping the Muslim Brotherhood. At the time, Fahmy worked for Al-Jazeera, which is owned by the government of Qatar. Qatar supported the Muslim Brotherhood, even after Morsi was out of power.[1]
In January 2015, Australian Peter Greste went back to Australia. But Fahmy and Baher had a new trial and got three more years in prison. Finally, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney helped them. Because of world pressure, President Sisi said they could go free.[1]