海角大神

Not long after three Al Jazeera journalists were arrested here in 鈥―ecember 2013, their Qatari television network mounted one of the largest 鈥╥nternational press freedom campaigns the world has ever seen.

Given Egypt鈥檚 record of jailing journalists, the network鈥檚 campaign seemed well founded. Last June, a court sentenced the three men 鈥� Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste, and Baher Mohamed 鈥� to between seven and 10 years in prison on terror charges. Secretary of State John Kerry called the ruling 鈥渃hilling [and] draconian.鈥�

The verdict became a diplomatic鈥� flashpoint for Egypt鈥檚 president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and a symbol of the country鈥檚 authoritarian tilt. But now, Al鈥� Jazeera is in the spotlight over what current and former employees say was a cavalier attitude about their safety amid political tensions between Egypt and Qatar, whose royal family bankrolls the network. While positioning itself as a defender of press freedom, Al Jazeera appeared to put greater stock in smearing Egypt鈥檚 reputation, they say.

Among these critics is Mr. Fahmy. Now released on bail, he accuses his employers of 鈥渆pic negligence.鈥� Standing outside the decrepit prison complex where the court convened Monday, Fahmy, a Canadian, said he was 鈥渧ery angry鈥� at Al Jazeera鈥檚 failure to protect its staff when it mattered most. He and Mr. Mohamed, an Egyptian, were freed on bail on Feb. 12 pending a retrial; Mr. Greste was released from jail and deported to his native Australia on Feb. 1.

鈥淚鈥檝e seen enough negligence now to even consider their actions as being in my favor,鈥� Fahmy said.

The allegations include ignoring warnings from staff in Egypt and refusing to temper the behavior of the network鈥檚 Arabic language stations in the months leading up to the journalists鈥� arrest. Al Jazeera later filed a lawsuit against Egypt, heightening bilateral tensions, which appeared to scotch any chance of backdoor diplomacy to secure the reporters鈥� pretrial release.

The Al Jazeera network strenuously denies that it put its staff at risk and, speaking to Sky News this week, a spokesman attributed Fahmy鈥檚 鈥╟omments to the 鈥渟train and literal or effective duress under which he鈥� may be speaking.鈥�

Al Jazeera Arabic sided with Brotherhood

In the eyes of Egypt鈥檚 government and others in the region, Al Jazeera is no ordinary media outlet. Many within the political and security establishment see 鈥╥t as a proxy for Qatar鈥檚 pro-Islamist political agenda.

This applies mostly to the network鈥檚 Arabic programming; its English-language news channel is seen as more impartial. The various services are editorially independent, although all are headquartered in Doha.

As the Arab Spring revolutions of 2011 unfolded, Al Jazeera led the media charge, running wall-to-wall footage of protests as they spread across the streets of Tunis, Cairo, and later, Benghazi.

In the summer of 2013, Mr. Sisi, then Army chief, led the overthrow of president and staunch Qatari ally Mohamed Morsi. Al Jazeera鈥檚 Arabic channels sided squarely with the deposed leader鈥檚 Muslim Brotherhood, much to鈥� the chagrin of Sisi鈥檚 new administration.

For Al Jazeera staff in Egypt, the mood turned sour. Ordinary Egyptians began asking foreign journalists if they were from Al Jazeera, without making any distinction between the network鈥檚 different arms.

鈥淎ll of a sudden, these channels that exist in parallel spheres found鈥� each other married to one another at a critical moment in time,鈥� says鈥� Adel Iskander, the co-author of a book on the network, 鈥淎l-Jazeera: The Story of the Network that is Rattling Governments and Redefining Modern Journalism鈥� and a 鈥╟ommunications expert at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.

鈥淭he鈥� Al Jazeera English station became guilty by association.鈥�

Warning signs

According to Fahmy, and former staff members who spoke to the Monitor 鈥╫n condition of anonymity, Al Jazeera鈥� overlooked a host of warning signs over the increasingly tenuous position of its Cairo operations.

Immediately after Mr. Morsi鈥檚 overthrow, the network complained when 鈥╰he Egyptian government temporarily jammed the signal of its Egyptian affiliate. But worse was to follow: In August 2013, police arrested a different three-man Al Jazeera English team and later shuttered their office, confiscating鈥� equipment and accusing the then-bureau chief of 鈥渞unning an unlicensed 鈥╟hannel and using unlicensed equipment."

Al Jazeera English's staff were then moved to temporary office space in a five-star hotel that would later become notorious as the site of their arrest. The decision left Cairo-based staff concerned, especially as the channel was operating in the Egyptian capital without a proper license.

Fahmy e-mailed bosses in Doha on Sept. 7,聽his second day in the job, asking for reassurance over the channel's legal status in Egypt and offering to鈥� lay out his concerns in full.

Afaf Saoudi, AJE鈥檚 acting executive producer for Middle East & North Africa, replied, 鈥淚 appreciate your concern about the legal issue, but Doha management will deal with it from here.鈥�

Mr. Iskander agrees that the network could have paid greater attention鈥� to their journalists鈥� activities in Egypt. 鈥淭hink of it like sending 鈥╯omeone into a war zone,鈥� he says. 鈥淣ot all the necessary precautions 鈥╳ere taken to allow them to be safe.鈥�

Fanning the flames

Fahmy later complained to Salah Neg, director of news at Al Jazeera English, when Al Jazeera Egypt Live,聽an Arabic channel devoted solely to Egypt鈥� news, started rebroadcasting original content 鈥╢rom the English-language station. Despite promises that the matter鈥� would be dealt with, rebroadcasts continued into December.

The recycled news footage was used as evidence against the Al Jazeera trio at trial as 鈥╝pparent proof that the men had been working for the pro-Brotherhood鈥� Egyptian channel, and were therefore agents of the Islamist movement.

Al Jazeera staff and analysts say the network鈥檚 mixed response to their鈥� journalists鈥� arrests further聽fanned the flames of their predicament.

The English language channel consistently featured the case on鈥� their newscasts, as did other major news organizations like the BBC, for whom Greste previously worked. They also took out full-page advertisements in newspapers such as The New York Times and the Guardian. It also paid for the jailed men鈥檚 family members to travel to Egypt for the their trial.

Fahmy says, however, that the channel spent more money on publicity than it did on his legal fees. He chose to employ a different lawyer, after one appointed by the channel walked out halfway through proceedings, and to date, Al Jazeera has not contributed a substantial portion of the new lawyer's fees.

Network seeks compensation from Egypt

At the same time, the network also launched a鈥� $150 million compensation claim against the Egyptian government, 鈥╝rguing that its crackdown on the network had violated a 1999 鈥╥nvestment agreement between Egypt and Qatar. It hired a prominent London law firm with a reputation for aggressive publicity campaigns on behalf of its clients.

鈥淭hat signaled that the gloves were off 鈥� the bosses had made their鈥� move,鈥� says one staff member from the English language station, who鈥� spoke to the Monitor on condition of anonymity. 鈥淚t was a difficult鈥� time internally 鈥� a lot of us didn鈥檛 understand why this would happen 鈥╳hen our boys were still in prison.鈥�

Al Jazeera staff say they wish network bosses had taken the three journalists' early warnings more seriously, and that they had not chosen to launch an antagonistic lawsuit while the men were in jail.

The Al Jazeera network has defended its record. 鈥淲e take the safety of鈥� our journalists more seriously than anything else,鈥� a spokesman told Sky News 鈥╫n Monday. 鈥淒ecisions are always taken in consultation with our 鈥╥n-country teams.鈥�

But standing outside the court complex, Fahmy sounded unconvinced. 鈥淎l Jazeera's epic negligence gave鈥� more firepower for our convictions,鈥� he said.