baher mohamed and mohamed fahmy spent over a year in and egyptian jail. we will speak with the third al jazeera journalist, peter greste , who was imprisoned with them for more than 400 days and reported to australia. he has yet to receive a pardon. >> the fact is, we did nothing wrong. there was no evidence of wrongdoing. ande guys are innocent men innocent men are in prison. that is what it is about. one day in prison would be unjust. amy: peter greste has traveled to new york to lobby for a pardon from egyptian president el-sisi who's here for the general assembly. all of that and more coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. pope francis has left the united states after a historic six-day visit. during his trip, pope francis addressed congress and the united nations general assembly, fed homeless people in washington, d.c. and met with , immigrant families and people who survived child sex abuse by clergy. the pope said "god weeps" over the sexual abuse of children, although critics and some su

last month the court returned mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed back to prison. the retrial was supposed to give them a second opportunity to clear their names. instead justice was denied yet again. the arrest and detention of mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed and peter greste damaged egypt's image ray broad. there are, though, other al jazeera staff who were convicted in abstentia at the original trial. at the moment we're not hearing that there is a pardon for the reof us, but it is an egyptian holiday today. we're wondering whether the paperwork just has not been released. if that's not the case, and we're not actually going to be getting a pardon, then we'll be lobbying at the u.n. general assembly to anyone who will listen, to shout out we were just journalists doing our jobs in cairo and this pardon is long overdue. for now though the happy closure of a happy chapter al jazeera. >> al jazeera's acting directing general released the following statement. >> earlier we spoke to al jazeera journalist baher mohamed on the line from cairo. >> i would like to thank ev

if this means, i hope it means that baher is out, too. i'm feeling very emotional. mean, we've been fightin fighting--fighting for the past eight months for this. >> the three journalists face charges including aiding the now banned muslim brotherhood. last year they were sentenced to to prison and then there was an order of a retrial. in february greste was deported to his native australia. mohammed and fahmy were released later that month but said they were still serving a kind of sentence. there was campaigns and support from grassroots to heads of government. >> we've been clear publicly and privately that they should be released. >> last month the court in egypt the court returned them to prison. the trial was to give them a second opportunity to clear thionase but it was denied. president sisi's pardon has allowed them to close this case without threatening the independence of egyptian judiciary. there were other al jazeera staff convicted in abstentia from the original trial. >> we're not hearing there is a pardon for the rest of them. but there is an egyptia

. >> baher mohamed and mohamed fahmy are pardoned in egypt. >>> the worst ever outbreak of dengue. >> talks to end the longest running conflict in latin american history have reached a major break through. negotiations have been taking place in cuba between the colombian government and farc rebels. president juan manuel hernandez says it will be in place by december. fighting to ar erase the gulf tt exists between rich and poor in the country. lucia newman has more. >> reporter: the image speaks louder than a thousand words and this image of colombia's president juan manuel santos, shaking hands with the leader of the farc rebels, is one colombians could not dream of. >> in the 26th of march 2016, at the very latest, exactly six months from now, we'll say good-bye to the long eggs war in colombia. >>> after almost three years of negotiations here in havana, perpetrators of gross human rights violations and war crimes including members of the farc. >> translator: those who refuse to recognize their responsibility in this crime will be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. >> it is up

. >> jailed journalists mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed are pardoned in egypt. and the volkswagen boss quits as the cheating scandal garts steam. gathers gathers steam. >> talks on the longest running latin american conflict. lucia newman reports. >> an image speaks larger than a thousand words. juan manuel santos shaking hands with the leader of the farc rebels is one that colombians could not have dreamed of. >> on the 26th of march of 2016, at the very latest, exactly six months from now, we'll say good-bye for good to the longest war in colombia. >> colombian government and rebel negotiates reached a deal to guarantee punishment of perpetrators of gross violations and war crimes, including members of the farc. >> translator: those who refuse to recognize responsibility will be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison. >> it is up to us now to multiply efforts to reach consensus on a bilateral ceasefire and to turn into a legal political movement. >> reporter: removing the last stumbling block to end 40 years of war but displaced more than 6 million colom

it's been a long time coming but producer boax an baher mohamed d photographer mohamed fahmy. have been pardoned. al jazeera media said, we're delighted for them and their families. it is hard to celebrate because this whole episode should not have happened in the first place, arrested and sentenced at least 40th,000 people between july 2013 and july 2014. a report in june says egypt has the highest number of journalists behind bars since the group began keeping records. in june of last year a cairo court sentenced the al jazeera team, to seven to ten years. then the court of castation released thank you, mayor. they which are unable to leave egypt, they said with their lives on hold they were still serving a kind of sentence. their plight splier inspired a l campaign of support. >> for al jazeera journalists in egypt we were clear publicly and privately that they should be released. >> retrial was supposed to give them and greste a second opportunities oclear their names. instead justice was denied. the arrest and detention of mohammed, fahmy and greste, was justice denied. i

the same case that saw mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed walk free last week. three of the group are egyptian and have been unable to return to their home country for fear of arrest. they deny all allegations against them. >> we're grateful of presidencicy for pardoning mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed. this is a team that has been worrying us all up until this point. it has been fantastic to see them as free men. this was in pardoning these guys, president sisi acknowledged that there was a mistake made here, and he has moved towards redressing that. this is just a step. what he has to do from here on is to pardon the rest of us as he has promised. and what i wanted to say to you today is that i have now formerly gun that application process by writing to president sisi, but submitting our application and lodging our application in to the court. >> hundreds of people have been brought to the sicilian border after being rescued by the italian coast guard near libya. the cost guard said that they were found in rubber dinghies, which had largely deflated. in libya c

. >>> now to egypt, tonight relief for two al jazeera journalists, baher mohamed and mohamed fahmy were pardoned by egypt's president. john terret is in toronto where mohamed fahmy is expected to arrive in the next few days. john. >> good evening from toronto. you have heard the phrase it takes a village, it takes a whole lot more, from the oval office to grass roots meetings, people who have plagued black tape to their mouths, to release three al jazeera journalists, two of them we know have been pardoned, we're waiting word on the status of the other one. but with al jazeera journalists tried in absentia and without word of their fate either, it is mixed feelings here at al jazeera. it's been a long time coming but al jazeera producer baher mohamed and freelance mohamed fahmy are free at last. >> this whole nightmare is over, we can live like normal people and go back home, enjoy our life and that's it. >> reporter: a pardon by president abdel fatah al-sisi marking the end to their ordeal, when they were arrested along with peter greste. al jazeera media says, we are delighted, but th

he was appearing on a australian tv show. >> if he's got a pardon i hope that baher is out too. it's hard to imagine couple i'm feeling really -- >> exactly. we know. >> we have been fighting for past eight months for this. >> the three journalists face charges including aiding the now band muslim brotherhood. in june of this year a court sentenced them to seven to ten years in prison. then last january the court of castation threw out theirics requests and added ordered a nw trial. greste was deported to his native australia but mohammed and fahmy were held in egypt. are. >> the issue of the al jazeera journalists in egypt we were clear publicly and privately that they should be released. >> last year the court returned mohammed and fahmy to prison. the retrial was supposed to grant them release but yet, that was denied. president sisi's pardon has allowed him to close this case without threatening the independence of egypt's judiciary. there are, though, other al jazeera staff who were convicted in absent ya at the original trial. >> at the moment we're not hearing that there

journalist peter greste, could be closer to getting a complete partnered, greste's colleagues, boa baher mohamed and mohamed fahmy were pardoned last week. >> i have met with prime minister sisi and spoken with peter greste, and passed on the news that egypt is considering a formal pardon. >> it's very encouraging to me. we have been fighting to have our names cleared for the past two years almost now. and it is great to know, or to get that kind of reassurance. >> now the story of traditionally fabrics used to clothe people for decades. disappearing from the shelves of one popular merchant. stefanie dekker explains why. >> in the area of old jerusalem city, selling fabric for generations. >> and also, the christians which is the people's shops and sometimes we do a gift for pope. >> he shows us fabric provided for the prevention pope, benedict xvi. >> you find a friend, they make friends in my store. >> reporter: we see that when we meet ronnie. >> i've been here for more than 18 years. all of us are coming here, jews muslims christians, this is jerusalem for me. and he is the prettiest

a presidential pardon for al jazeera journalists mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed. the canadian and injection reporters -- and egyptian reporters, along with australian peter greste, were sent since -- month.entenced last they were convicted in june, 201 4. the case attracted global criticism and a campaign to free the journalists. human rights are groups have accused the egyptian authorities of widespread violations. despite technology the damage the trial has done to egypt's reputation, president sisi insisted on letting the judiciary do its work. the release of the two and the others comes one day before the president plans ahead to the annual u.n. summit and on the eve of eid al-adha. joins: turkey's president the russian president to open a new mosque in moscow. 'the building is the citys biggest -- the building is the mosque of its -- the biggest of its kind. reporter: a capacity of 10,000 -- moscow's newest and largest mosque, a building that cost about 150 million euros. russian president led the grand opening with -- the russian president led the grand open

. >> baher mohamed and mohamed fahmy are pardoned in

mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed has been ordered to serve three years behind bars. peter greste was sunsed after being we torted in february. >> i'm notville of all oi'm not blaming all the egypt for this. this ring reminds me that egypt didn't do. it's the judges that did it, the institution did it. i do these forums to remind egypt why it matters. >> the japanese comic books known as manga have become part of the pulling industry. now their popularity is spreading to some of the most unlikely places. we have reports from a library in dakar, senegal. >> the 11-year-old girl is hooked on this japanese manga series. it depicts the adventures of a japanese girl living in hiroshima in the 1930s befor before atomic bomb was dropped. >> i really like this book because of the adventure and the drawing, and sometimes i see myself in the character. it's just fun. >> finding manga in africa let alone senegal is near impossible. >> i put a message up on facebook saying that people could come and borrow books. there was a sudden wave of inquiry and the interest in reading cont

mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed has been sentenced to serve three years behind bars.ey're now back in jail. but peter greste was deported in february. >> i'm not critical of all of egypt. this is an egyptian ring. i wear it to remind myself that it's not egypt that put me in prison. it's a couple of judges who did it. it's their institutional flaws that did it. i'm trying to use these forums to remind egypt why these things matter. >> the indian government said it will implement an yell pension scheme for its armed forces. nearly three million ex-service men will get the same pension as south africa men of the same rank who are retiring now. veterans have been protesting for 80 days, many have been on hunger strike demanding that narendra modi fulfill a key promise of his election campai campaign. >>> a passion for japanese comics continue to grow. their popularity are spreading across the world to some of the most unlikely places. we go to a comics store in senegal. >> the series features the fictional adventures of a young japanese girl living in hiroshima in the 19

. >> jailed journalists mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed are pardoned in egypt.

on saturday fahmy along with baher mohamed, and peter greste were given a three-year jail term for quoteding false news. human rights lawyer says she has had support from canadians on the ground, but she believes the government can do more to help. >>> well human rights including the freedom of expression are under attack in gambia. amnesty international saying the situation is getting worst after the government refused to address recommendations put forward by the u.n. back in march. our correspondent has the story from senegal. >> reporter: it's a song gambian radios won't put on air. ♪ >> reporter: and yet it's going viral, spreading online throughout the country. it denounces gambia's freedom of speech, arbitrary detention and rampant corruption. >> after being fed up and seeing my people not being able to speak out against police brutality, against corruption, against people going missing for no reason, not being able to speak out against the level of hardship in this country, i really believe in the voice of the people, and it's on me to speak out against what is going on. >> repor

. >> al jazeera america >> jailed al jazeera journalists mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed are pardoned in egypt. >> this whole nightmare is over. the whole nightmare is over. we can live like normal people and go back home, enjoy my life and that's it. that's it. ♪ >> hello there, i'm barbara serra. you're watching al jazeera live from london. e.u. leaders pledge an extra billion dollars for the refugee crisis as refugees

. >> members of the press sof for al jazeera mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed and peter greste were givenhree years sentence. al jazeera is demanding for their immediate release. >>> already, still to come on the program. >> how hollywood may have softened the blow when it comes to concussion. one of the biggest issues in american theater. >> hello again. let's go to sport now with rob robin. >> felicity. good to see you. thank you very much. we'll go to flushing meadows where serena williams to reach the third round of the u.s. open. it was a tougher than expected assignment for the 33-year-old. a dutch opponent making her work for her first set win. five more victories and she'll achieve a calendar year grand slam. >>> the south africa's rugby club spring springboks has given permission to pack its bag. it was claimed that it was not fulfilling its obligation under the government transsignificance policies. >> there may have been the feeling among white people that rugby is the last institution in our society where they can express themselves it is definitely a jealous guarding of rugby

. >>> baher mohamed and mohamed fahmy are back in jail today. the egyptian court found them guilty of spreading false news. amal clooney is representing fa meez. fahmy about. >> maybe we won't know the content of a call or meeting but i think that level of communication should be taking place. >> the issue last gone on since december 13 when he was first detained. their colleague peter greste was also sentenced to three years. al jazeera rejects the charges against all the journalists and demands the release of fahmy and mohammed. >>> in drug producing nations including peru the battle begins at the source. are mariana sanchez takes us into the jungles of that country. >> after a tip, special police marched across rivers and marshes. commander carlos sanchez led the team as they set out to find a coca lab. the shots are fired to warn the producers. most people are involved in the drug trade. just as we were arriving the traffickers fled. they left behind their bread, they left behind boots. these sacks of coca leaves the police say were about to

the case saw mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed walk free last week. three of the group are egyptian and have been unable to return to their home country in fear of arrest. they deny all allegations against them. >> this was an president el-sisi has acknowledged that there was a mistake made here, and he has moved towards redressing that. but this is just a step. what he has to do from here on is to pardon the rest of us as he has promised. what i wanted to say to you today is what i've formerly began that application process by writing to president el-sisi by submitting the application through the court. >> germany is imposing tougher conditions for migrants for countries in the balkans. there was a record search in numbers of refugees. albania, kosovo and montenegro are now on the list of safe origin countries. people from those countries can be deported more quickly. >>> the government suspects a third of all asylum seekers pretending to be from syria to increase their chances of staying. >> this is the end of a long and hostile journey, and health

egypt has pardoned dozens of prisoners, including al jazeera journalist baher mohammed and mohamed fahmy. that is according to egypt's presidential spokesman, quoted in the official news site. dozens of other act visits have been released as a pardon marking the holiday. none of the seven al jazeera journalists sentenced in absentia have been pardoned. greste has been reds. they were given sentences ranging from three years to 10 years. the al jazeera network continues to demand all charges and sentences against its journalists of dropped. i wanted to fit in that breaking news. we will have more on developments on that story out of egypt as we get them. pardon me. >> wonderful news. >> it is good news for those journalists that have been in jail in egypt. let's get back to our top story here. we are looking at a view of the white house and the south portico door where the president will exit to meet the pope. i think we're less than a minute away from the motorcade arriving. you can see a huge crowd gathered on the south lawn. what can you tell me about the welcoming committee and who wi

. >> reporter: last week al-sisi gave a presidential pardon to mohammed fahmy, and baher mohamed, they tried in a trial human rights groups call a sham. they are now free. >> i still love this job. i believe in it. >> reporter: but seven other journalists were tried and convicted in abcensus on terrorism charges. they have not been jailed but risk arrest in dozens of countries. >> we really feel even though the guys are out of prison, we're kind of still imprisoned because we go about our daily jobs without fearing being put in prison. so the message is give us the pardon, let us put this behind us, and help egypt's image. >> reporter: in an interview with the associated press last week, the egyptian president was asked about the journalist's case. >> translator: it's very important for you to rest assured we're always keen on solving issues and problems, especially those in journalism. >> the government of egypt blamed journalists for their country's bad image. but nothing has done more to tan initial their image than the government's only actions. >> reporter: it's unclear when or if

peter greste, mohamed fahmy and baher mohammed were sentenced to three years behind bars. peter greste was deported in egypt. >> this ring, i wear a ring here. this is an egyptian ring, and i water it to remind myself that it's not egypt to put me in prison, it's a couple of judges that did it. their institutional flaws did it. i'm trying to use these forums to remind egypt of why these issues matter. journalists freedom is written into egypt's own constitution. >> waiting for a ticket out of iraq. we'll meet the african refugees desperate to reach europe. >> violent protests in nepal over proposed changes to the constitution. >> coming up in sport, what this australian golfer needs to do to reach the number one spot. that story is coming up a little later. this is a great place to work. not because they have yoga meetings and a juice bar. because they're getting comcast business internet. comcast business offers convenient installation appointments that work around your schedule. and it takes- done. - about an hour. get reliable internet that's up to five times faster tha

hours later, canadian mohamed fahmy and egyptian national baher mohammed, joined by their wives, weresed in cairo. they had been arrested in december 2013 and convicted of reporting what the government called "false news". >> where are we going to start? i don't know. what are we going to do? we're going to travel the world, we're going to celebrate, we're going to party and you know we just really hope that this is... our families have suffered so much since the beginning of this trial and we're very happy that president sissi took this action and released us. >> woodruff: a third al-jazeera journalist had already been deported. the coup in the west african nation of burkina faso is apparently over, after just one week. the interim president of the country announced today he's returned to power. he had the backing of the military, which opposed the coup by members of the presidential guard. burkina faso is supposed to hold elections next month. chinese president xi jinping turned his attention to doing business today on the first leg of his visit to the u.s. xi's tour of a boeing pla

jailed al jazeera journallests mohamed fahmy, baher mohammed are pardoned in egypt. >> this whole nightmare is over. the whole nightmare is over. we can live like normal people rand go back home and enjoy my life, and that's it. that's it. >> e.u. nations pledge $1 billionor