Al-Jazeera Journalists Sentenced To 3 Years Imprisonment For Spreading 'False News'

Al Jazeera journalists were accused of expanding "false news" and given at least three years each imprisonment on Saturday, according to USA Today,

Hence, Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed were sentenced by the Egyptian court, of not only posing a danger to national security with fake broadcasts, but were also said to be not "real journalists" and had no broadcast license. Hassan Farid, the judge who presided over the case, said that they wanted to harm the country.

But the journalists said they were merely trying to give different perspectives of news. The acting director for the Al Jazeera Media Network criticised the verdict, pointing out that it countered "logic and common sense."

All three journalists fought the courts for almost 20 months, spending almost a year in prisons. Many critics claim that the entire exercise was unfair and was opposed to journalistic freedom in Egypt, said The Guardian.

International attorney and celebrity wife Amal Clooney represented one of the journalists and spoke to reporters about the court's decision, according to hngn.

"It sends a message that journalists can be locked up for simply doing their job, for telling the truth and reporting the news," said Clooney, according to The Guardian. "And it sends a dangerous message that there are judges in Egypt who will allow their courts to become instruments of political repression and propaganda."