in egypt and, si si said he wanted to address that and john kerry was there and did mention it. what kind of an impression has this made now? >> that is the thing and thought we may see a positive resolution to the case. it seemed to have got to that stage where that was the likely outcome because we had john kerry mentioning these issues, because they had been mentioned by the egyptian government itself and we have the release of abdula and we thought it was

positive sign to protect media freedom in egypt. unfortunately they have not gone free. >> peter for media freedom and stay with us, we will be talking about this of course at length as people react to the news that the egyptian court handed down the verdict of 7 years in jail to peter greste, fehmy and mohamed and they accused with, well, i'm hearing now we will look at more reaction from a person following this on social media. >> reporter: i'm struggling to keep up with this one because it's enormous and feels like unversatile condemnation and i bring up the hash tag on twitter, it refreshes with 20 new tweets pretty much every second and i'm not seeing

anything that says they agree with what happened, time to boycott egypt but the job there and people say they are sickened by what they are seeing coming out of cairo today and we see an absolute spike on the twitter map and this is the map that shows you where free ajam is twittering and this is close to the levels we saw on the global day of action which was in february. hot spots and east coast of the united states where it's 5:00 in the morning and nairobi where greste based and asia and australia and the big hash tag for sidney where he was from in australia as well. forgive the slight lag we have here on the ipad, but this is what is happening with free aj staff and aj trial, i'm terribly sorry with the the lag we are getting here but this shows you, something happened and we had a fall off recently and we have

12000 tweets per hour and it has fallen and i will have to check on that and forgive me because this is moving so, so quickly and quite difficult to keep up with it. so let me just bring up the map again and we will keep going there. here we go. there is the free aj staff as well and to remind you how big this has become in a very, very short space of time, pretty much global condemnation right across the world. >> and you have run through it earlier but give us an idea how much social campaign, social media campaign helped bring attention to this case and what it has done to journalists who are in jail. >> reporter: really good point and i have stuff i can show from a little bit earlier. the free aj staff campaign, it actually i must say wasn't an al jazeera initiative but picked up

early in the piece and if i find the tweet a little bit earlier and this is an montage in africa and where greste was based and colleagues who started this in january or february and started to take photographs of people and they have the egyptian flag across their faces and basically what they say you silence one of us then you silence all of us is where it started and these journalists started tweeting it oust and it was phil and jessica who were colleagues of peter greste in nairobi and lived in the same area and that is where it started. when we had the global day of action which was probably three or four months ago that hash tag had over half a billion impressions through the world and we will see how big it is and today it will get a lot more exposure and we have to thank a lot of you out there to keep the

campaign alive and pictures with tape on your month and free aj staff and we couldn't report from cairo and we relied on the public to get the word out there and that is exactly what they did and this is the result you get when so many parts of the world are treating about al jazeera and jailed colleagues at once and it's hardening for us, i will tell you and it has been very disappointed with the news that has come out of cairo and if you want to send me anything please do and al jazeera is our pr feed which will keep you updated but please keep sending in stuff to us. >> and we will be speaking to him periodically as we get more reaction from social media sites. let me update you on the latest information we are receiving. the verdict according to the verdict peter greste, 7 years

and bahe 7 years and three years possession of a bullet he picked up during the protest and mohamed gets seven years and this is getting a lot of attention from around the world and heads of states and the australian prime minister. he says he has told a few hours ago the egyptian president that our jailed colleague peter greste was innocent and only doing his job. >> in the end it's up to the egypt justice system to do its job. i did my best to put it to the president. but as an australian journalist peter greste would not have been taking sides, he simply would have been reporting on the events he saw before him. he certainly would have had no interest in promoting the muslim brotherhood. he simply would have been providing his view with what he

thought was the story of the day because that's what australian journalists do. >> one of the organizations that has been part of this campaign and has been commenting on the issue of the three jailed journalists along with the other jailed media people in egypt is amnesty and we have steve crawshaw from amnesty international and steve if i could get a reaction from you on this verdict. >> reporter: well, as all of you have been saying this is an outrageous ruling we just heard. i wish it could be more surprising in the context of what we have seen in the resent weeks and months but it's not and it's affront to justice what we are seeing there and amnesty international will campaign as we have been doing and so many around the world have been doing to be free but it's a sign and

one i think the world needs to speak very, very strongly on this. clearly for the individuals concern this has much broader significance to egypt as a whole. >> reporter: for egypt as a whole what does this say to you about freedom of speech in this country and possibly the prospects for my colleagues, what kind of recourse will they have going forward? >> well, i mean, pressure can work, that is the first thing to say. we did think the one release we had seen might have been partly and affected by that pressure, and we were clearly hoping international pressure and we would help for a positive outcome together and there are too many examples and i will give you from this month alone and getting 15 years in jail for blogging simply, for speaking out in general, for talking about the situation, to get 15 years jail for that. we've had appalling deaths we

have not seen elsewhere at all with no sense of justice. the context of freedom of assembly is deeply disturbing and clearly matters to the individuals concerned. but this is something which is affecting all of those who are speaking out, really for if you like for a better egypt and the kind of hopes that were there a few years ago and which can be done again but really what we see at the moment are the worst possible sign. >> thank you very much there, steve, director of the office of the secretary general of amnesty international speaking from london and reaction to the verdict. and lee from al jazeera is not allowed to be reporting from cairo so we have cnn giving us updates and outside the court at the moment and firstly tell us what the reaction has been from

inside the courtroom. >> reporter: a lot of shock really, a lot of people coming into the courtroom today were optimistic that they would be acquitted and talking to family members and the lawyers of the defendant and they thought that everything pointed to an acquittal and that this seven years especially seven years seems wasn't in the realm of possibilities inside the courtroom when the judge gave his sentence bahmy was dragged away by the police and holding on to the bars that were holding them in the cell that they were in inside the courtroom. really just a lot of shock and disbelief especially the fact that watching this trial over the course of the over a dozen sessions and really hasn't been any hard evidence that pins these journalists to these -- to their charges that they have been brought against them. really when you look at the

evidence you look at the reports that are done and basically they are basic journalist reports getting both sides of the story so a lot of shock here today. this process now goes on to appeal. they will appeal this court ruling and this case will be dragged out a bit longer. one thing to point out is that we have seen in-court sessions in other trials over the past year, we have seen a lot of really heavy-handed sentences being passed down willing to be reduced or acquitted in the appeals process, so there is hope an appeals court would be able to acquit them but for right now they will be in prison for a bit longer. >> and as people react to those verdicts, ian tell us what happened in the proceedings today. >> reporter: well, today was just the announcement of the

verdict. there is nine people who are actually in the courtroom. just a fraction of the total number of people who are actually on trial. those who are tried were given ten year sentences but the judge just readout the verdict and readout the sentencing. you could hear in the courtroom just a loud up roroar of bahmy tears and his family vowing that they will move on. i talked to his brother earlier. he said he is going to move to egypt to campaign for his brother's freedom as well as peter greste's family very much distraught over what has taken place here today. it was just a quick trial, the reading of the verdict and something that a lot of people who supported these journalists were found or who are very much shocked at hearing. >> and remind us of what these journalists are being accused

of. >> reporter: well, they are being accused of supporting the muslim brotherhood which is deemed a terrorist organization and also belonging to it as well as fabricating news, spreading false image of egypt and that is the one where they have brought in these reports, these videos to show, to prove and brought in a panel of experts from state t.v. to testify that they were spreading false news and even during their testimony they contradicted themselves often, really couldn't nail down any of these charges from what we saw with the evidence that was presented. but the prosecution was able to get the ear of the judges and that is when we saw these harsh sentences and i do need to say though that al jazeera does deny any of these charges against

their journalists. >> indeed, al jazeera does deny all these charges against journalists. ian stay with me a second and i will remind our viewers that there is egypt has just delivered a verdict on three al jazeera journalists. each been given seven years. fahmy an extra three years, i will come back to ian who is outside the courtroom because al jazeera can't report from egypt and cnn has been helping up with updates and telling us what is happening and as a journalist who is in cairo at the moment what concerns the latest verdict bring for you? >> reporter: well, this verdict really does send a message for people, for journalists that the government does have a red line and that it's taking this red line seriously and that red line is if they believe that you threaten national security they

will bring the full weight of the law down upon you and it also sends a message to people who are not journalists who may disagree with the current regime or the current government that may go out and prozest and we have seen them being arrested and says this government is taking this source of cases very seriously and that if anyone is deemed threatening national security or an enemy of the state, basically that they will receive heavy sentences. >> thank you so much ian lee from outside the courtroom in cairo for us and hearing reaction from all around the world and from the australian leader who had just hours ago asked for peter greste saying he did nothing wrong and made the appeal directly to the egyptian -- egypt's, si si and has there

been any reaction since? >> reporter: we are expecting some political reaction within the next few minutes. the good news as far as that goes is the australian is expecting in a few minutes to hear a statement about the sentences that have been handed down in cairo from the foreign minister julie bishop and also heard from the australian prime minister leading up to this verdict, he has been criticized at times over the past few months for his lack of voice if you like publically in support of the australian peter greste but he certainly came out on monday in the australian media and spoke about the fact that he had spoken over the phone to the egyptian president and made the case for leniency to be displayed by the courts towards peter greste but not expecting

to hear from him in the next few minutes but perhaps in the hours ahead we may hear from the prime minister. but as i say we are expecting to hear from the australian foreign minister julie bishop very soon. we are where peter greste, lois and uris live and they did not want attention on the day of the verdict and it was always going to be a nerve wracking day for them and they are scheduling to hold a media conference 10:00 tuesday morning local time so that is in just under 13 hours from now so it's obviously going to be a very difficult and emotional time for the parents of peter greste. >> it has been an agonizing wait for them coming up, and such a disappointing result. tell us how the australian public and the australian media have been rallying behind peter greste. >> reporter: well, certainly noticed it ramped up that supports the coverage in the

media over the past couple days. as we speak the situation is being broadcast live on at least one television channel very quick to broadcast breaking news of the verdict coming out. there has been a lot of coverage throughout the day on television and on radio. a lot of comments being replayed, that comment by the australian prime minister tony abbot and him confirming he had spoken to the egyptian president in person, over the phone, saying that he wanted to see leniency displayed towards the australian peter greste who was found guilty in that courtroom just a few minutes ago, saying that it would be a p.i. coup for the egyptian government if they were to not treat peter greste and his colleagues harshly. as i say we are not expecting at the moment to hear from the australian prime minister australian time but certainly from the foreign minister. >> as you said there, wayne, there is a lot of attention on

peter greste and family, tell us about their campaign in particular to bring attention to their brother, their son and his plight whom they were saying and the rest of the world is saying they are doing their job. >> reporter: yes, and they have been very strong throughout and very vocal, very public and held many media conferences and countless media interviews and campaigning the world basically to get them behind this case and urge for not only peter's release but other journalists that have been on trial and very clear to point out this wasn't just about peter greste, their son, their brother and the australian, it was also about mohamed fahme and mohamed as well and wanted all of them to be freed. but they have been very strong and stoic throughout what must have been a terrible ordeal for them and remained there and

didn't go to cairo for the verdict but two of peechtreer greste's brothers were there for the verdict and rotating their presence in cairo and one has been there pretty much the entire time and that has been good support for peter greste and colleagues that remain in the cell. >> reaction from australia, one of the journalists was australian, peter greste, thank you very much. to bring you up to date right now, an egyptian court has given us -- has handed a verdict down to three of my al jazeera colleagues and given seven years each and mohamed gets three more years for possession of ammunition and we are gauging reaction from all over the world and we have barbara who is press freedom manager of international press institute and she joins us now from vienna and barbara

since they were arrested in december they came to court at least a dozen times time and again with proceedings being stretched out, with the prosecution giving all kinds of allegations, often not necessarily relevant. tell us about what your reaction to this verdict and what your concerns are about press freedom. >> reporter: of course. now, we are absolutely shocked by this verdict. we did not expect this. we expected eventually that the courts may have the journalist to choose to act in line with the sterry of the prosecution which provide strong freedom of expression and accept the fact that greste, fahmy and mohamed were carrying out their work as journalists and as such they did not certainly they did not

endanger national security or they cannot be accused of that. but so we are appalled and we have talked together with a lot of other press around the world, ahead of every court and says there have been many court appearances and we insist on calling on the egyptian government to respect their constitutional commitments. >> thank you very much barbara for talking to us on al jazeera, giving us your reaction to the verdict. we can go live to where the australian foreign minister is speaking. let's listen in. >> peter greste is a well respected journalist and in egypt to report on the political situation, so he is not there to support the muslim brother rood. we respect the outcome of the resent elections in egypt and we

will now initiate contact at the highest levels in the new egyptian government to see whether we can gain some kind of intervention from the new government. and find out where the intervention is indeed possible at this stage. i have spoken at length with peter greste's parents and considering legal options including appeal options. we do not know how long an appeal process would take. but in the meantime we will provide whatever assistance we can to mr. greste and of course to his family. we understand egypt has been through some very difficult times and there has been a great deal of turmoil in egypt but this kind of verdict does nothing to support egypt's claim

to be a transition to democracy and australian government urges the new government of egypt to reflect on what message is being sent to the world about the situation in egypt. freedom and freedom of the press is fun -- fundamental to a democracy and we are deeply concerned that this verdict is part of a broader attempt to muzzle the media freedom that upholds democracys around the world. any questions? >> independent of the egyptian government and if you don't will you take action against egypt in australia? >> at this stage it's not helpful for me to reflect on the egyptian court or its independence as mr. greste is considering his options with regard to an appeal.

but i'll make it clear that we will initiate contact at the highest level within the new egyptian government to register our concerns and to see whether an intervention by the egyptian president is possible at this sta stage. >> can you explain the appeal process and whether there is any sort of presidential or any machinery for presidential intervention? >> i understand from a legal perspective that upon the conclusion of an appeal there is available to the president a pardon. however, i'm wanting to initiating contact to see if there are any other grounds for intervention at an earlier st e stage. the egyptian ambassador will be speaking to the department of foreign affairs in trade tomorrow. we will make contact. i will also be making contact

with their ambassador in cairo, dr. ralph king. at this stage dr. king is in contact with the greste family and he is in contact with the egyptian authorities and i wish him to continue in that role while we undertake an investigation as to what is possible in terms of an intervention at the stage. and i do point out that the greste family currently conferring with their legal chain as to what advice they will be taking in relation to an appeal. >> the preference is to seek ways to have the convict shunl overturned rather than a pardon. >> at this stage we are seeing what intervention is possible. i have had many conversations we egyptian authorities over the last few months and i have been informed in the past that the whole legal process must run its course before the egyptian president can consider a pardon.

we want to initiate contact at this stage to see if an intervention at an earlier point in the legal proceedings is possible. i expect that there will be considerable international comments on the matter. i expect that the egyptian government will come under a great deal of pressure from the international community. i want to see if there is a possibility for us to initiate a contact with the president to see if there can be an early intervention. >> how do you characterize your level of confidence having effect and taking into account the high level of the engagement so far? >> must engagement has been with the interim egyptian government since last september. my contacts have been with the foreign minister fahmy and the other one was appointed last week and my first contact with him was over the weekend.

we had what i thought was have a very constructive construction and i tend to follow that conversation up with a call as soon as possible. >> was the prime minister surprised because he seemed quite optimistic after his discussion. >> we are all shocked by this verdict and that includes the prime minister. >> earlier on you were making representations through the saudi channel as well, was that not successful? >> we have made representations through a number of governments who we believe have influence over egypt or are closer to egypt than the australian government and that has been not only in the middle east but more broadly. and i know that representations have been made by secretaries of state, foreign ministers and other high-level representatives from other countries to the highest levels within the int

interim egyptian government and we have been pressing the government for months now including the prime minister's personal phone call to the interim president and his resent phone call to the president al-abdel-fattah el-sissi and we will continue to do that and you will be aware that foreign diplomates and government officials and secretaries of state have confirmed publically they have made representations on behalf of mr. greste and other journalists, other al jazeera who have been convicted, and we will continue to call on friends and other governments in the region who we believe have influence. >> and these recommendations have been made. >> the egyptian government's response to date has been that it's an independent judicial process and we must respect the independent judicial process. now in the case of australia we would say, yes, we do respect

the independence of the judiciary, however we are shocked by this verdict. we are deeply disappointed that a court could come to this decision. >> okay, so we have been listening to julie bishop. she is the australian foreign minister and she was saying that peter greste is considering his legal options, the consulate will provide all support they can. she also resisted answering a question on the egyptian court and its independence, we will be getting more from australia in a little bit but first i will remind viewers who are joining us right now the egyptian court has given a verdict and we al jazeera journalists sentenced them to seven years in prison, peter greste, fahme and mohamed have been jailed since december and in a court for a dozen times since and falsely accused of collaborating with the muslim brotherhood anou