Al-Jazeera English chief says more must be done for journalists in Egypt jail

More needs to be done politically to free journalists Peter Greste, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed from an Egyptian jail, says Al-Jazeera English managing director Al Anstey.

“Countries and leaders around the world have stood up publicly, and I’m sure privately, and made their feelings known to Egypt,” Anstey told Guardian Australia. “But there is always more that can be done on every level.”

Anstey acknowledged that Tony Abbott and Julie Bishop in Australia, David Cameron in the UK, and many others, had stood up publicly and said “let them out, this is an injustice, set them free”, but he called for an even stronger protest before the next court date of 1 January, 2015.

In Sydney to campaign for the release of Australian Greste and his Egyptian colleagues, Anstey said the pressure to free the three men existed on three levels – governments, journalists and the public – and that they were all crucial. “That campaign needs to get louder. The message to Egypt is ‘enough is enough’,” he said.

“We simply can’t believe that they are still behind bars; that it’s been 319 days just defies belief,” Anstey said. “We all know that they’re innocent of all charges; that they are guilty of only one thing and that is carrying out the best and most responsible journalism the world can ask for.”

Greste and his Egyptian colleagues were convicted in June of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood and spreading false news that portrayed Egypt as being in a state of civil war.

Anstey says that despite the toll the imprisonment of his staff has taken on the network, Al Jazeera will not change its editorial approach or retreat from covering the hot spots.

“We as a journalistic organisation are underpinned by integrity, we’re underpinned by balance and no matter where we are reporting from that is the backbone of what we do and that will remain unchanged,” he said.

“In terms of safety: safety underpins what we do. We have a duty of care to our staff and indeed to our contributors right around the globe. Obviously we’ve learned some very hard lessons through the extraordinary turn of events in Egypt and we’ve taken those on board and they are very much part of the evaluation in Egypt and elsewhere.”

On Friday, 14 November AJE celebrates its eighth year, and Anstey has just come from South Africa where he launched the channel’s new global brand campaign, “Hear the Human Story”.

In Australia, Al Jazeera English is available on Foxtel and on free-to-air viewing windows on ABC and SBS, as well as free on any digital platform.

“From day one we put the human being at the centre of the story,” Anstey said. “The Al Jazeera view is that the story is about human beings caught up in world events, impacted by decisions made by leaders and corporations. It is that humanity which is at the very centre of our coverage.

“We have the most incredible correspondents around the globe in 18 bureaux and quite often those people are from the place they are reporting on and they speak the language.

“So many networks put the talent at the front of the story. And actually the story is at the forefront of the story. That’s what we’re about.”

Anstey said Al Jazeera’s mission was to cover the world “without a perspective”.

“We cover the developing world as much as the developed. So a person in Bangui is given as much humanity as a person in Boston or Birmingham.”

Greste’s parents Lois and Juris and brother Andrew were the guests of honour at an Al Jazeera English dinner addressed by Anstey and the human rights commissioner Gillian Triggs on Wednesday night.

Anstey praised the courage of Peter Greste’s Latvian-Australian family, and warned efforts had to be stepped up because the legal process was very slow.

“The next court date has been set for 1 January and what that is is an interim court that looks at process and not at evidence,” he said.

“And what that court will do is decide if the appeal court can take place. So the legal process might take months and months and months. Given the innocence of the guys and the extraordinary injustice that has taken place, this has to be sped up. It is in the gift of Egypt to bring this to an end.”