Egyptian Court Adjourns Trial of Al Jazeera Journalists to April 22

An Egyptian court said on Wednesday it adjourned until April 22 the trial of two Al Jazeera television journalists.

The pair are charged with aiding a terrorist organization, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, which the government banned following an army takeover of power in July 2013. The army, led by current president Abdel Fattah el-Sissi who was then defense minister, toppled Egypt’s first freely-elected civilian President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Al Jazeera producer Mohamed Fahmy, a naturalized Canadian who has given up his Egyptian citizenship to facilitate his release, and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were released on bail last month after spending more than a year in custody.

A third Al Jazeera journalist, Australian Peter Greste, was deported in February, following a presidential decree that allowed deportation of jailed foreigners.

They were originally sentenced to between seven and 10 years in prison on charges including spreading lies to help a terrorist organization, which they have denied. Egypt's high court ordered a retrial in January. (VOA)