CAIRO: Canadian Journalist Mohamed Fahmy has had his Egyptian citizenship returned. In a tweet on Thursday he said: “Retrieving my Egyptian nationality has revived my heart, long live justice.”
Fahmy, formerly the chief bureau of Al-Jazeera in Egypt, was one of the three journalists at the Qatari-based network accused of spreading false news, working without proper licenses, and terror-related charges.
He ceded his Egyptian nationality in December 2014 during his trial. Fahmy later stated that the decision was “against his will” and meant to make use of a deportation law that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi issued to extradite non-Egyptian prisoners to their home countries.
His Australian colleague in the same case, Peter Greste, was deported per the law in February 2015. However, Fahmy remained in prison until he was sentenced in August 2015 to three years in prison along with his colleagues in the case known as the “Mariott Cell.”
Fahmy and his Egyptian colleague Baher Mohamed were pardoned per a presidential decree that released around 100 prisoners in September 2015.
During his trial procedures and even after his release, Fahmy has repeatedly stated that the Egyptian citizenship is “in his heart” and that he will seek to get it back.
His lawyer reportedly requested the retrieval of his citizenship in December 2015.
The acceptance to his request was published in the official gazette on May 5 per a decision by the Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar, which included 12 more people who retrieved their Egyptian citizenship.
Fahmy is currently staying with his wife Marwa Omara in Canada for treatment to his broken arm. He told Youm7 Thursday that he will return back to Cairo in July.