The father of an Australian journalist jailed
in Egypt says his family was stunned by
the sentence as the Australia's Prime
Minister Tony Abbott vows his government
will work quickly to free him
Australian Peter Greste was one of three
Al Jazeera journalists sentenced by a
Cairo court on Monday to at least seven
years in prison on terrorism-related
charges stemming from an interview with
the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Greste's father Juris Greste told reporters
in the family's hometown of Brisbane on
Tuesday that he was in a state of shock
and was struggling to think straight.
"We're not usually a family of superlatives,
but I have to say this morning my
vocabulary fails to convey just how
shattered we are," Juris Greste told a news
conference accompanied by his wife Lois
Greste. "You can never prepare yourself
for something as painful as this."
"Journalism is not a crime, or you should
all be behind bars. It's a simple as that," he
told reporters. "Our son Peter is an award-
winning journalist, he is not a criminal."
"We're obviously shocked, dismayed,
really bewildered by the decision of the
court in Egypt," Australian Prime Minister
Tony Abbott told reporters.
Mr Abbott said Australia respects the
legitimacy of the Egyptian government, its
justice system and the need "to crack
down on extremism including the Muslim
Brotherhood, but ... it is important that there
be due process, it is important that
decisions be made on a fair and just
basis."
"The Australian government will continue
to make intercessions at every level with
the Egyptian government and elsewhere to
try to ensure that Peter Greste and his
colleagues are swiftly released," Mr Abbott
later told Parliament.

Source
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/10921779/Imprisoned-Al-Jazeera-reporter-Peter-Grestes-father-journalism-is-not-a-crime.html