23 June 2014
Last updated at 02:10 ET
The case has caused an international outcry, with rights groups saying the trial is politicised.
Australian PM Tony Abbott has appealed to Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi for Mr Greste's release.
Prosecutors have asked the judge to sentence the men to between 15 and 25 years in prison.
The court is trying a total of 20 people, including nine al-Jazeera employees.
'Vindictive persecution' The BBC's Christian Fraser in Cairo says the evidence put forward earlier in court did nothing to support the serious charges brought.
The judge was shown photographs from Mr Greste's family holiday, a Sky Arabia report on cruelty to horses and a video of a press conference in Nairobi, our correspondent adds.
Tony Abbott said he told Mr Sisi that "as an Australian journalist, Peter Greste would not have been supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, he would have simply been reporting on the Muslim Brotherhood."
"The point I made was that in the long run, a free and vigorous media are good for democracy, good for security, good for stability," he added.
Mr Greste's brother Michael told the BBC that the family was
trying "to be as optimistic as we can," but was filled with "an amount
of trepidation" as they awaited the verdicts.
He said, while hoping for Mr Greste's release, "it might not happen - because it's no certainty, that's for sure."
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been visiting Cairo, said he spoke to Egyptian officials about "the essential role of a vibrant civil society, free press, rule of law and due process in a democracy".
Earlier this month, another Al-Jazeera journalist, Abdullah Elshamy, was released on medical grounds.
Al-Jazeera trial
The Qatar-based al-Jazeera network is banned from operating
inside Egypt after the authorities accused it of broadcasting reports
sympathetic to former President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim
Brotherhood. Al-Jazeera has consistently denied the allegations.
Qatar has supported the Brotherhood and is unpopular with Egypt's government.
Rights group Amnesty International has previously described the trial as a "vindictive persecution of journalists for merely doing their jobs".
"The journalists appear to be pawns in the hands of the authorities in their ongoing dispute with Qatar," they said.
Egypt's authorities have cracked down harshly on Islamists and secular activists since Mr Morsi was removed by the military in July 2013.
Hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested.
Egypt: Al-Jazeera journalists await trial verdict
TO SEE VIDEOS:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27969299
The three journalists were detained in a raid on their Cairo hotel in December
A court in Egypt will deliver verdicts in the case of three al-Jazeera journalists detained since December.
Peter Greste, Mohammed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed are accused of
spreading false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. They deny
the charges.The case has caused an international outcry, with rights groups saying the trial is politicised.
Australian PM Tony Abbott has appealed to Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi for Mr Greste's release.
Prosecutors have asked the judge to sentence the men to between 15 and 25 years in prison.
The court is trying a total of 20 people, including nine al-Jazeera employees.
'Vindictive persecution' The BBC's Christian Fraser in Cairo says the evidence put forward earlier in court did nothing to support the serious charges brought.
The judge was shown photographs from Mr Greste's family holiday, a Sky Arabia report on cruelty to horses and a video of a press conference in Nairobi, our correspondent adds.
Tony Abbott said he told Mr Sisi that "as an Australian journalist, Peter Greste would not have been supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, he would have simply been reporting on the Muslim Brotherhood."
"The point I made was that in the long run, a free and vigorous media are good for democracy, good for security, good for stability," he added.
Peter Greste's brother Michael says he is feeling "trepidation" ahead of a possible verdict
He said, while hoping for Mr Greste's release, "it might not happen - because it's no certainty, that's for sure."
US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been visiting Cairo, said he spoke to Egyptian officials about "the essential role of a vibrant civil society, free press, rule of law and due process in a democracy".
Earlier this month, another Al-Jazeera journalist, Abdullah Elshamy, was released on medical grounds.
- Defendants include al-Jazeera's Cairo bureau chief, Mohamed Fahmy, who is Canadian-Egyptian, Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed and Australian correspondent Peter Greste
- They deny charges of spreading false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood
- The three men were seized in a raid at a Cairo hotel on 29 December and have been held at Cairo's Tora prison
- Prosecutors have demanded sentences ranging from 15 to 25 years in prison
- The court is trying a total of 20 people, including nine al-Jazeera employees
Qatar has supported the Brotherhood and is unpopular with Egypt's government.
Rights group Amnesty International has previously described the trial as a "vindictive persecution of journalists for merely doing their jobs".
"The journalists appear to be pawns in the hands of the authorities in their ongoing dispute with Qatar," they said.
Egypt's authorities have cracked down harshly on Islamists and secular activists since Mr Morsi was removed by the military in July 2013.
Hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested.
Egypt in transition
Features and Analysis
-
Egypt's new President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi made highly ambitious campaign pledges that he could find hard to deliver, says BBC Arabic's Adel Shoeir.Power cut
-
Egypt's cure?
-
Sisi - in 60 secs
-
'One-horse race'
-
Voters' views
-
V for Sisi?
-
New face of old guard
-
Sisi's speech: Full text
-
Selling Sisi
-
Media on trial
-
Authoritarianism fears
-
Q&A: Morsi trial
-
Years of turmoil
-
Officials in the dock
-
Bowen: From euphoria to tragedy
-
Making of Gen Sisi
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered