Peter Greste to address National Press Club

Australian Al Jazeera journalist, Peter Greste will address the National Press Club of Australia later this month, discussing his incarceration in Egypt and the campaign to free him.

This will broadcast Live at 12:30pm AEDT Thursday, March 26 on ABC News 24 and 12:30pm on ABC TV (local time). It will also be streamed at abc.net.au/news24 and geo-blocking will be removed for international audiences throughout the duration of his address.

ABC Managing Director, Mark Scott said: “The plight of Peter Greste and his Al Jazeera colleagues captured Australians’ attention, not just because of the injustice they were subjected to, but also because of the dignity with which Peter and his family met that injustice. The ABC is proud to broadcast what will be a very compelling address.”

Greste, a Peabody Award-winning correspondent who’s also worked for Reuters, CNN and the BCC, was arrested by Egyptian authorities in December 2013 along with two Al Jazeera colleagues Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed. He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for news reporting that was claimed to be damaging to national security.

After sustained international condemnation and a worldwide campaign demanding justice for the Al Jazeera journalists, Greste was deported on February 1 this year and returned to Australia, finally a free man after 400 days in an Egyptian prison.

Greste will speak about his time in jail; the international movement that eventually led to his release; freedom of the press; and his focus on now supporting the co-defendants he left behind.