TORONTO (NEWS1130) – The family of a Canadian journalist languishing in an Egyptian prison wants Prime Minister Stephen Harper to intervene in Mohamed Fahmy’s case.
Fahmy’s family launched an online campaign today.
They’re urging supporters to use the hashtag “HarperCallEgypt” in their efforts to encourage the PM to lobby for the 40-year-old’s release.
Fahmy and two colleagues were arrested in December 2013 while working for satellite news broadcaster Al Jazeera English.
Egyptian authorities accused them of supporting the banned Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and Fahmy was sentenced to seven years in prison.
The family initiative comes a day after Egyptian authorities announced Fahmy would be retried beginning on Thursday.
The family calls the retrial a shock, considering former foreign affairs minister John Baird had recently described Fahmy’s release as “imminent.”
A spokeswoman for Lynne Yelich, junior minister responsible for consular affairs, says Harper has “personally” raised Fahmy’s case with Egypt’s leadership