The Peter Greste case

There is a real sense of outrage in Australia over the sentencing of Peter Greste and his Al Jazeera colleagues. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had this to say:

"The Australian government is shocked at the verdict in the Peter Greste case. We are deeply dismayed by the fact that a sentence as been imposed. We are appalled by the severity of it.

"It is hard to credit that court in this case could have reached this conclusion.

"The Australian government simply can not understand it based on the evidence presented in this case.

"Peter Greste is a respected Australian journalist, he was not there to support the Muslim brotherhood

"We respect the outcome of the recent elections in Egypt and will now initiate contact at the highest levels in the new Egyptian government to see whether we can gain some kind of intervention from the new government.

"I have spoken at length with Peter Greste’s parents. They are considering their legal options, including appeal options.

"We do not know how long an appeal process will take, but in the meantime, we will provide whatever consular assistance we can.

"We understand there have been some very difficult times and there has been a great deal of turmoil in Egypt. But this kind of verdict does nothing for Egypt’s claim to be transitioning to democracy.

"The Australia government urges Egypt to reflect on what message is being sent to the world.

"We are deeply concerned that this verdict is part of a broader attempt to muzzle the press freedom that upholds democracies around the world.

"I can not think what more we could have done. I am bitterly disappointed by the outcome."

Foreign Minister Bishops’ remarks were supported by all sections of Australian politics.

In other reported reaction, the Netherlands and the UK said they would summon the Egyptian ambassador over the sentencing. The Dutch foreign ministry said that the "minimum requirements for a fair trial were not met".

"I am appalled by the guilty verdicts handed down today against Egyptian and international journalists in Egypt," the UK foreign secretary, William Hague, said in a statement.

"I am particularly concerned by unacceptable procedural shortcomings during the trial process, including that key prosecution evidence was not made available to the defence team."

The Canadian ambassador David Drake, who attended the session for Fahmy, an Egyptian-Canadian, said there were many questions over the verdict.

"We are very disappointed," he said. "We are digesting this ... We don't understand this particular verdict.''

As you might expect, the twitter feeds ran hot with reactions from fellow reporters when the news first came out -  #petergreste and #freeajstaff provide examples. As one twitterer observed with a particularly Australian take, even kangaroos would be embarrassed by this result. The BBC provides an analysis of the hash tag traffic to this point.

The Egyptian Government has attempted to defend the decision:

“Egypt has strongly rejected foreign criticism of its judicial system and interference in its affairs after a court decision to sentence three al Jazeera journalists to seven years or more in jail raised an international outcry.

"The Egyptian foreign ministry strongly rejects any comment from a foreign party that casts doubt on the independence of the Egyptian judiciary and the justice of its verdicts," the foreign ministry said in a statement.”

I suppose that one could argue that there have been other travesties in show trials here and elsewhere, as well as other oppression of the press; this is a much retweeted example: “Rastakhiz ‏@sedaye_iran I don't hear this much #FreeAJStaff outrage against #Iran regime which has made Iran into the biggest prison for journalists in the world.”  That said, it remains true when you strike at journalists in this way you are striking at the heart of an institution that we rely on the provide at least some protection against tyranny.