The trial of 20 defendants, including nine Al Jazeera journalists charged with terrorist connections, resumed in Egyptian court on Wednesday.
Al Jazeera's Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed have been detained in Egypt since December over alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Six other Al Jazeera staff members were tried in absentia. All told, 16 Egyptians and 4 foreign reporters are currently facing charges of "airing false news" and collaborating with a "terrorist organization," 12 of them in absentia.
Tweets sent from inside the courtroom Wednesday give a closer look at what conditions are like for the journalists awaiting their fate. The defendants can be seen in cages placed in one side of the room.
Trial of al-Jazeera journalists today. #Egypt pic.twitter.com/S4UVtKb3wR
— Galal (@GalalAmrG) March 5, 2014
Al Jazeera'den gazeteciler,Mısır'daki sduruşmaya kafes içinde getirildi. Ödüllü gazeteci Peter Greste.. #FreeAJStaff pic.twitter.com/30xfwv6QDt
— Irem Koker (@ikoker) March 5, 2014
As the trial began, France 24 foreign correspondent Sonia Dridi began live-tweeting several key moments from trial:
The Al Jazeera journalists appeared to be in poor condition.
Several family members were also present at the courthouse:
The fiancée of imprisoned #AlJazeera journo Mohamed Fadel Fahmy waves at him in the cage. #egypt pic.twitter.com/uHzdPkGqbw
— Alex Ortiz (@azortiz) March 5, 2014
The journalists were originally set to begin trial on February 20, but it was adjourned until March 5 after just a 40-minute hearing. The trial has reportedly been adjourned again until March 24. Gamal Eid, a lawyer for the Arab Network for Human Rights in Cairo, told Daily News Egypt that he expects the journalists to be sentenced to seven years in jail.