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Peter Greste timeline: Al Jazeera journalist's year in Egyptian custody

Al Jazeera correspondent Peter Greste was arrested in Egypt on December 29, 2013, along with producers Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed and cameraman Mohamed Fawzy.

Accused of broadcasting "live news harming domestic security", Greste has been in custody ever since.

In June, after a trial which drew international condemnation, he was sentenced to seven years in jail.

His appeal against the verdict is due to be heard on January 1.

This is a timeline of the Greste case since his initial arrest.


January 1, 2014


Greste and his colleagues are serving 15 days in detention while they are questioned over alleged ties to terrorists.

Egyptian authorities accuse the news crew of holding illegal meetings with members of the Muslim Brotherhood and "disturbing public security".


January 21, 2014


Greste's parents Juris and Lois Greste call for their son's immediate release as his detention is extended.

"We wish the Egyptian people peace and prosperity; however, Peter's detention is most unfair and unjustifiable," Mr Greste says.

"We respectfully but passionately ask the Egyptian prosecutor to free Peter and his colleagues immediately."


January 25


Greste releases a letter vowing to fight for freedom of speech in Egypt.

He writes that Egyptian authorities are cracking down on freedom of speech and those "who refuse to applaud the institution".

He says that he had originally planned to fight for his freedom "quietly", but has now decided that acquiescence would validate the crackdown on freedom of speech.


January 29


Greste's case is referred to Egypt's criminal court to face trial on February 20.

Egypt's public prosecutor says Greste is accused of "airing false news aimed at informing the outside world that the country was witnessing a civil war".

If found guilty, he could face seven years in prison.


February 5


International support grows for Greste's case.

Journalists march on the Egyptian embassy in Kenya, delivering an open letter that demands the release of journalists who have been detained.

US president Barack Obama also backs calls for Greste's release.


February 20


Greste is refused bail and his case is adjourned until March 5.

During the hearing he calls out in court: "We need everyone's support", and acknowledges the support he has received, saying it "has contributed enormously to our protection".

Asked if he has a message for his parents, Greste says: "Tell them I love them. Be strong. We're together as a team."

Lois and Juris Greste thank the Australian public for rallying behind their son.


March 5


During his second court appearance, Greste calls on Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to add his voice to the international condemnation for his detention.

"We need him to speak out," he said.

"Everybody from the White House down has given their support to us. We haven't heard from the Prime Minister."


March 28


Prime Minister Tony Abbott personally intervenes on Greste's behalf.

In talks with interim Egyptian president Adly Mansour, Mr Abbott says Greste was only doing his job as a journalist, and had no intention of damaging Egypt's interests.


March 31


In another appearance in court, Greste and his colleagues are denied bail and the case is again adjourned.

In an unusual move he is allowed to directly approach the judge and tell him why he should be freed.

In words translated for the judge, Greste says he had only been in Egypt for two weeks before his arrest, and has no connection with the Muslim Brotherhood.

He says he committed no crimes of violence, has no criminal record, and poses no threat to the people or state of Egypt.

Greste tells the court his only desire is to continue the fight to clear his name.


April 6


Greste and his colleagues mark 100 days in detention.

Lois Greste says the family never believed he would be held for so long.

"We never believed at the start of this that it would reach this point," she says.

"We thought it would be over, and sometimes I've thought perhaps even a day.

"And then when two, three, four, and now it's 100 days. And it's really hard, it's really hard."

Journalists around the world express support for the detained Al Jazeera staff with a social media campaign under the #FreeAJStaff hashtag.


May 2


Greste's latest appearance in court coincides with World Press Freedom Day.

During his appearance, he brands the trial "a massive injustice, regardless of the outcome".

In a statement read out by his parents ahead of the hearing, he also acknowledges the international "outpouring of support" which he says is "unprecedented in the struggle to protect press freedom".

He is again refused bail.


May 16


Greste's lawyer quits amid a dispute with Al Jazeera, claiming the news network is more concerned with fighting the Egyptian government than freeing its employees.

In court for another hearing, Greste says he had no idea the move was afoot, and says he is disappointed in his lawyer's public outburst.

The incident overshadows an otherwise wasted hearing as legal argument prevents the defence from presenting its case.

Another later hearing descends into farcical scenes when the court is played footage and audio from the BBC and various other unknown and unconnected sources.


June 5


Making their final submissions in the case in the Cairo trial, prosecutors demand the "maximum" penalty for Greste and his 19 co-defendants, urging the court to show no mercy.

From within a cage in the courtroom, Greste tells judge Mohamed Nagy Shehata that evidence has been falsified, and asks to be acquitted.

"[The prosecutor] spoke very much in generalisations and so we expect the judge to acknowledge the lack of any specific evidence and acquit us on that basis," he says.


June 23


Greste is found guilty by an Egyptian court of spreading false news and supporting the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.

He is sentenced to seven years in jail.

The verdict draws widespread criticism from world powers, human rights activists and journalists.


June 26


Greste says he is "devastated and outraged" by the seven-year jail sentence handed to him by Egyptian court.

Greste's brothers Mike and Andrew post a paraphrased statement from the Al Jazeera journalist to the Free Peter Greste Facebook page.

"The verdict confirms that our trial was never simply about the charges against us. It has been an attempt to use the court to intimidate and silence critical voices in the media," the statement said.

"That is why I know that our freedom, and more importantly the freedom of Egypt's press, will never come without noisy, sustained pressure from individuals, human rights groups, governments and anyone who understands the fundamental importance of a free press to Egypt's fledgling democracy.


July 3


Greste's parents see their son for the first time in more than six months.

Mr Greste says his son has been "almost too stoic" in phone calls to the family, but that the seven-year sentence is finally sinking in.

"It was a horrendous experience," he says.

"Had we had a small bucket between us as we were sharing hugs it might have even overflowed with tears, with tears and sobs.

"His mood is very sombre. His mood is obviously very very sombre, facing the prospect of having to end a career that anybody could have been proud of to this point."

July 25

Peter Greste and his Al Jazeera colleague Baher Mohammed plan to appeal against their imprisonment.

In a statement, Greste describes the prosecution's case as hollow, and says their ordeal is far from over.

"When Judge Mohammed Nagy handed down his guilty verdict in a packed court room on June 23, it felt as though we had been king-hit; thumped by a right hook that we saw coming out of the corner of our eye, but hardly believed would really land, and certainly not with the force that it did," he says.


August 1


Peter Greste's parents say he has been "coping well" since his conviction by an Egyptian court.

But they say the family is devastated by the many months he has already spent behind bars.

"Our lives have been completely put on hold for the past eight months... it's difficult to concentrate while Peter is in jail," Juris Greste says.

"We passionately and absolutely know that a grave and very serious injustice has taken place in Peter's case, and we won't shy away from professing that opinion as long as we can."


August 22


Lawyers officially file an appeal against the conviction of Greste and his fellow Al Jazeera journalists.


September 26


Prime Minister Tony Abbott raises Mr Greste's case with the Egyptian president on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

"The impression I have of him is that he appears to be a decent man of good values that appreciates that free - or at least freeish [sic] speech - is very important, even in Egypt," Mr Abbott says.

"I think he will do his best to be helpful."

The talks follow a plea from Mr Greste's parents asking Mr Abbott to put pressure on Egypt to speed up their son's appeal.


October 24


An Egyptian court sets January 1 as date for Greste's appeal.

The news comes as Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says he wishes the journalists had been deported and not put on trial.

However, he stops short of suggesting he would use his presidential power to pardon the journalists.

Egypt's court of cassation will examine the Greste appeal, which Al Jazeera says "will look at the process behind the original trial, a process that Al Jazeera says was flawed".

The network marks 300 days since the arrest of its journalists with "300 seconds of silence on-air, accompanied by images of the detainees and the campaign to release them".


November 21


Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says he is considering pardoning Greste and one of his colleagues.

"Let us say that this matter is being discussed to solve the issue," he says when asked if he would use a presidential pardon.

Asked when a decision might be made, he says: "If we find this appropriate for the national security of Egypt, we will do it."


December 4


Greste wins Australian journalism award, the Walkley Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism, for his fight for democracy.

Andrew Greste accepts the award on behalf of his brother, saying "stay strong brother, let's get you home for Christmas".


December 23


Greste writes a Christmas letter from his Cairo cell, saying he feels "proud and strengthened" by what has been achieved "in this fight for justice".

In the letter, released almost one year after his arrest, Greste writs that while on paper it looks like he and his colleagues have made little progress this year, he feels they have started "fundamental change" by creating global awareness for the issue of press freedom.

"We have galvanised an incredible coalition of political, diplomatic and media figures, as well as a vast army of social media supporters to fight for that most basic of rights: The right to know," he said.

"Never has cleared-eyed, critical, sceptical journalism been more necessary to help make sense of a world overloaded with information."


December 24


Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says she is "mildly optimistic" that Greste could be released from an Egyptian jail soon.

Ms Bishop speaks to her Egyptian counterpart to argue the case for the Al Jazeera reporter to be released for Christmas.

"We've got our fingers crossed but we don't know yet whether we have secured this but I'm hopeful, I'm optimistic," she says.


January 1, 2015


Egyptian appeals court - the Court of Cassation - orders a retrial for Peter Greste and his Al Jazeera colleagues Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed.

Greste's parents Lois and Juris, in Egypt for the hearing, initially expressed shock at the ruling but later told the ABC their son will now push to be deported now he is back to being an accused, not a convict.