愛污传媒

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says the fact that Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy has both Canadian and Egyptian citizenship makes it more difficult for Ottawa to intervene in his case.

"Obviously a significant complexity in this is that he's not just a citizen of Canada鈥�but also a citizen of Egypt who's subject to Egyptian law, not Canadian law," Baird said in an interview with an Ottawa radio station that aired on 愛污传媒 Channel on Tuesday.

Baird said the fact that Fahmy was working as a journalist at the time of his arrest is "deeply troubling."

鈥淥ne of the challenges of this case is that Al Jazeera is, of course, funded by the government of Qatar, who is directly funding the Muslim Brotherhood, and that鈥檚 what makes this case more complex and adds a different dimension to it,鈥� Baird said.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone believes he鈥檚 in cahoots with the Muslim Brotherhood, but obviously the government of Qatar had a close relationship.鈥�

Fahmy and two of his Al Jazeera English colleagues were sentenced to seven years in Egyptian prison on Monday after being found guilty of terrorism-related charges.

The conviction and sentence sparked an international outcry and prompted governments and human rights organizations to call for the journalists' immediate release.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the verdicts "chilling and draconian" while UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay described it as "obscene and a complete travesty of justice."

Ottawa, meanwhile, was criticized for its tepid response.

While Canada's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Consular Issues Lynne Yelich issued a statement Monday, saying she was "disappointed" with the verdict and would raise the case with Egyptian authorities, Baird did not offer comment.

Baird said Tuesday his office is bound to draw criticism no matter what it does.

鈥淚f we鈥檙e loud and vocal, we鈥檙e practising bullhorn diplomacy and not being professional,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut if we take the case directly to leadership, we鈥檙e accused of not standing up. I think you want to pursue the path that would be the most effective to solving the case.鈥�

Also Tuesday, Yelich's office sent 愛污传媒 a statement outlining eight instances between January and June in which Canadian officials raised Fahmy's case with Egyptian authorities.

Liberal foreign affairs critic Marc Garneau said Tuesday that Canada had an obligation to speak "loudly and clearly" against the sentencing, but failed to do so.

"There is a time when you have to, as a country, speak up in the name of the free press and in the name of a fair judicial process," he told 愛污传媒 Channel.

Garneau said Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi had the opportunity to show his transition government is moving toward democracy, but that's not the message he sent to the rest of the world.

"Is (el-Sissi) going to be like (former Egyptian president) Hosni Mubarak, or he is going to take the country in a different direction?" he asked. "Yesterday did not bode well."

Egypt president won't intervene in journalist case

Despite widespread condemnation of the sentence, el-Sissi said Tuesday he will not interfere in court rulings.

According to Egypt's constitution, the president has the right to issue a pardon, prompting government officials to urge el-Sissi to use this right to immediately to release the journalists.

However, in a nationally televised speech, el-Sissi said: "We will not interfere in judicial matters because the Egyptian judiciary is an independent and exalted judiciary."

El-Sissi said he called his justice minister late Monday to repeat that sentiment and he urged people to stop commenting or criticizing court rulings.

"If we desire (strong) state institutions we must respect court rulings and not comment on them even if others don't understand these rulings," he said.

Baird said he had a lengthy meeting with Egypt鈥檚 foreign minister to discuss the case.

鈥淭hey can鈥檛 issue a presidential pardon unless there鈥檚 a verdict, and until the appeals are exhausted,鈥� Baird said. 鈥淪o obviously we鈥檙e going to stay engaged with this file, with this case.鈥�

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has called for el-Sissi to proclaim the innocence of Peter Greste, an Australian journalist who was sentenced alongside Fahmy and one other. Australian Foreign Minister Julia Bishop added that she is appalled by the severity of the verdict.

But Baird noted that 鈥渢he Australian hasn鈥檛 been released either.鈥�

Prosecutors had accused Fahmy and his colleagues -- Australian Peter Greste and Egyptian Baher Mohammed -- of promoting or belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, the political party of former president Mohammed Morsi, who was ousted in a military coup last summer. Egypt's government has since branded the group a terrorist organization.

The verdict sparked widespread allegations that the prosecution failed to produce any credible evidence of wrongdoing.

With files from The Associated Press and the Canadian Press