Peter Greste

Peter Greste
Greste in 2015
Born (1965-12-01) 1 December 1965 (age 58)
Sydney, Australia[1]
NationalityLatvian Australian
CitizenshipAustralia
Latvia
EducationBachelor of Business[2]
Alma materQueensland University of Technology (Australia)
Occupation(s)Academic, journalist, writer[3]
Notable workFreeing Peter (2016)
The First Casualty (2017)
Criminal statusArrested and jailed in Cairo, Egypt on 29 December 2013 and sentenced for 7 years on 23 June 2014

Deported to Australia
on 1 February 2015
to face prison or trial
(Australia did not uphold)

Egyptian retrial in absentia on 29 August 2015 increased jail sentence by another 3 years
(Greste did not return to Egypt)
Conviction(s)Falsifying news and having a negative impact on overseas perceptions of Egypt
Criminal penalty10 years prison (2013-23)
400 days served (2013-15)

Peter Greste (Latvian: Pēteris Greste; born 1 December 1965)[4] is a dual citizen Latvian Australian academic, memoirist and writer.[5][6] Formerly a journalist and foreign correspondent, he worked for Reuters, CNN, the BBC and Al Jazeera English; predominantly in the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

On 29 December 2013, Greste and two other Al Jazeera journalists were arrested by Egyptian authorities in Cairo.[7] On 23 June 2014, Greste was found guilty of falsifying news and having a negative impact on overseas perceptions of the country,[8] and sentenced to seven years prison.[9] The Australian government intervened and negotiated on his behalf with a new Egyptian government.[10]

On 1 February 2015, Greste was officially deported to Australia (via Cyprus) on the condition that he face prison or trial in his home country; something Australia did not uphold.[11] At a retrial on 29 August 2015, an Egyptian court sentenced Greste in absentia to another three years in prison. However, he avoided serving that sentence because he was already out of Egypt and did not return.[12] If the full sentences were served, Greste would have been incarcerated until December 2023.

  1. ^ Ojārs Greste (2010). "Austrālijas latvietis iesakņojies Āfrikā". Laikraksts Latvietis (in Latvian). Archived from the original on 3 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Professor Peter Greste | UQ Experts".
  3. ^ https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-greste-7a530723/?originalSubdomain=au [bare URL]
  4. ^ Colvin, Mark (1 December 2014). "Peter Greste spends 49th birthday in Cairo prison". PM. ABC Radio. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Professor Peter Greste | UQ Experts".
  6. ^ https://www.mq.edu.au/thisweek/2022/11/25/10-questions-with-peter-greste/ [bare URL]
  7. ^ "Canadian journalist asks Egyptian judge to free him: 'I ask for acquittal'". Toronto Star. 30 April 2014. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  8. ^ Patrick Kingsley (29 January 2014). "Egypt to charge al-Jazeera journalists with damaging country's reputation". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Secretary Kerry: Prison sentences for Al Jazeera reporters 'deeply disturbing set-back' for Egypt". Big News Network. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  10. ^ https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/julie-bishop/transcript-eoe/press-conference-peter-greste [bare URL]
  11. ^ "Al Jazeera journalists Peter Greste, Mohammed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed sentenced to at least three years' jail". ABC News. 30 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Al Jazeera journalists Peter Greste, Mohammed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed sentenced to at least three years' jail". ABC News. 30 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.