US Senator John McCain calls on Egypt to release Australian journalist   1/25/2014   11:39 AM       US Senator John McCain has joined international calls for the release of Australian journalist Peter Greste and his Al Jazeera colleagues who are being detained by Egyptian authorities.   Peter Greste, Baher Mohamed and Mohammed Fahmy have all been detained since December 29, and have been been accused of holding illegal meetings with the Muslim Brotherhood.   "For the Egyptian government to keep them in prison, I think, is another indicator that this military government, and that's really what it is, is not keeping with the standards of international behaviour that we would expect," McCain told Al Jazeera on Friday.   "My message to the Egyptian government, and I know these people, is and has been: if you want to be part of the community of nations and have our cooperation and assistance, then you cannot engage in practices such as the arbitrary imprisonment of members of the media," he said.   On Thursday another order was made extending their detention by another 15 days. The men are detained in solitary confinement in a Cairo prison, and strongly contest the allegations made against them.   Greste grew up in Brisbane and has worked for the ABC, CNN, the BBC and currently Al Jazeera.    His father Juris Greste said the claims against the men were “completely preposterous”.   “We wish the Egyptian people peace and prosperity. However Peter’s detention is unfair and unjustifiable. We ask the Egyptian prosecutor to release Peter and his colleagues immediately,” he said in an emotional news conference on Tuesday. “He and his fellow journalists have done their jobs competently and with a high level of professionalism.”   Journalists working for Al Jazeera have been under threat from Egyptian authorities because the organisation is believed to give favourable coverage of the Muslim Brotherhood. Al Jazeera Arabic reporter Abdullah Al Shami and cameraman Mohamed Bader have also been detained for five months.   There has been widespread condemnation of the Egyptian government’s detention of the men from international organisations. The International Federation of Journalists, Reports without Borders and the International News Safety Institute have all called for the release of the men.   Australia’s Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance have called on Australian journalists to show their support for Greste and sign a petition for his release.

شاهد المحتوى الأصلي علي بوابة الفجر الاليكترونية - US Senator John McCain calls on Egypt to release Australian journalist

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