Peter Greste to begin appeal against conviction in Cairo today
An Egyptian appeals court will review the convictions of Australian journalist Peter Greste and two of his Al Jazeera colleagues in a hearing beginning later today.
Greste's mother and father, Lois and Juris Greste are in Egypt to attend the hearing but are believed to be trying hard not to get their hopes up.
Earlier in the week, Greste's brothers Andrew and Mike Greste told the ABC all hopes now rested on this appeal, with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi thought unlikely to move to issue any pardon while the legal process is ongoing.
Greste was working for the Al Jazeera satellite TV network when he was detained late in 2013.
He and a group of colleagues were detained accused of broadcasting "live news harming domestic security" and were referred to Egypt's criminal court.
They were accused of aiding the Muslim Brotherhood which was declared a banned terrorist group after its leader, Mohammed Morsi, was ousted from the presidency by a military coup.
On June 23, Greste was found guilty of spreading false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.
Greste and the acting bureau chief Mohammed Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in jail and Al Jazeera's local producer Baher Mohammed was sentenced to an extra three years because a spent bullet was found with his possessions.
The trio were caught in a crackdown after Morsi was toppled and his group outlawed.
The original trial was widely criticised for a lack of evidence but the appeal court can only rule on legal principles, not hear new facts or evidence from the case.
The appeal judges in Egypt's Court of Cassation could throw out the conviction, order a retrial, or uphold the original guilty verdict.
