Amal Alamuddin and her work

When is she supposed to go to Egypt?

I would think she and her colleagues would want to go and see the prisoners they are representing to discuss the way forward and to talk to them before the retrial if there is to be one.

It seems unlikely that Amal and her colleagues would be arrested as that would give the Egyptian Authorities a great deal of negative publicity. It would also give some proof that their legal system is unjust.

I can hear Tina Fey and Amy Poehler teeing up the jokes now...

Egyptian officials have already denied they "threatened" arrest.  So who is lying?

What possible reason could Amal have for lying? Her legal reputation and career would be in tatters

They can deny that what was said was meant as a threat. Or they can deny that it was said at all. So far, all they've done is say she should identify who said what, and that she can come to Egypt any time.

I'm thinking Egypt's the one with the flaming pants.

George sure married a gal that comes with a lot of work - PR and now apparently security-wise.

party animal - not! wrote:What possible reason could Amal have for lying? Her legal reputation and career would be in tatters

Exactly. As you said earlier PAN there is much going on behind the scenes. So let's see who makes the next move. Bottom line Egypt and their system of governing looks pretty sorry right now. And for what it's worth, for better or for worse, I think Amal's involvement has put more of a spotlight on this story.

[ltr]On 1 January 2015, the Egyptian Court of Cassation issued a ruling upholding the appeal filed by Mohamed Fahmy to overturn his conviction and 7-year sentence. In so doing, Egypt's highest court has recognized that there were legal errors in the original trial. But instead of releasing Fahmy, the Court ordered a retrial and declined to grant him bail. The Court's reasoning and the position of the prosecution on the re-trial are due to be published in the coming weeks.[/ltr]

Mr. Fahmy is a journalist who was convicted of reporting false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. These allegations are not true and were not backed by any evidence at trial. Mr. Fahmy has never supported the Brotherhood. There was no evidence presented at trial that showed that he ever fabricated a report or knowingly made a false statement. He is serving a draconian sentence for simply reporting the news.

[ltr]A re-trial process is lengthy and its outcome is uncertain. It is also not clear how a new process would fix any of the deficiencies in the original trial. The charges themselves are a violation of the right to free expression under Egyptian and international law. There are no guarantees that a new panel of judges would respect due process or demand cogent evidence before concluding that a crime was committed. Fahmy cannot therefore count on the retrial process to offer a just or swift solution.[/ltr]

As Mr. Fahmy's counsel, we are therefore pursuing discussions with the Egyptian and Canadian authorities in a spirit of cooperation in order to identify a swift and fair resolution to the case. We have submitted a written request for a pardon and for his release to the Egyptian President, Minister of Justice, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prosecutor-General, and we await their response.

[ltr]President Sisi has the power under Article 155 of the Egyptian Constitution to grant Mr. Fahmy and his journalist colleagues a pardon at any time. He has already distanced himself from the case, pointing out that the decision to arrest Mr. Fahmy was taken before he was president. He has stated that Mr. Fahmy and his journalist colleagues should not have been put on trial. He has expressed regret about the negative consequences of the case for Egypt. And he has said that he is considering granting a pardon or finding another solution to this matter. Although President Sisi has suggested that he may not grant a pardon while judicial proceedings are ongoing, now that the appeal has been determined -- and the judiciary has recognized that legal violations have occurred -- we very much hope that the president will decide to step in.[/ltr]

A transfer to Canada is also possible, and has received official support from the Canadian government. We have been in touch -- along with Canadian counsel Lorne Waldman -- with officials in Ottawa and we are currently actively pursuing opportunities to discuss the terms of a transfer in Mr. Fahmy's case with the Canadian Foreign Ministry. We have been informed that Foreign Minister Baird is considering our request to meet with him and we very much hope that such a meeting will be possible before the foreign minister's planned visit to Cairo in mid-January. We would also welcome an official response from the Egyptian authorities to the request for a pardon, and further engagement on the terms of a transfer.

In the meantime, to the extent that consideration of a pardon or negotiations on a transfer to Canada will lead to further delay, it is imperative that Mr. Fahmy be temporarily released on health grounds in accordance with the Egyptian Code of Criminal Procedure. A request to the Prosecutor-General for humanitarian release was made by the Egyptian Syndicate of Journalists in October and it has subsequently been supported by counsel and by Canadian consular officials. Medical reports attached to the original request confirm that Mr. Fahmy suffers from Hepatitis C as well as other health conditions that cannot be treated appropriately in detention. His detention has become a serious risk to his health and he must be released for treatment immediately while requests for his release are being processed.

[ltr]Mr. Fahmy has been imprisoned for over a year in a case that shocks the conscience of many observers in Egypt and abroad. We look forward to working constructively with the Egyptian and Canadian authorities in the coming days to reach an agreement for his release as soon as possible.[/ltr]

Finally, there is another matter that requires comment. An article was published in the Guardian newspaper on 2 January 2015 stating that officials threatened Amal Clooney with arrest in Egypt in connection with her representation of Fahmy. The incident that was recounted in fact arose in early 2014 when the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBA) -- which was organizing the launch of a report co-authored by Mrs. Clooney -- was warned by experts in Egyptian affairs who were consulted on the launch that she and her colleague risked arrest if they launched the report in Cairo, in light of the criticisms made in the report and recent
[ltr]prosecutions for "crimes" like insulting the judiciary, government or military in Egypt. As a result of these warnings, the IBA decided that it was not safe to hold the launch in Cairo, and the authors were forced to hold it in London instead. This incident arose before Mrs Clooney's involvement in the Fahmy case, before the current president was in office and in a context entirely unrelated to this case. The journalist has since apologized for the misleading presentation of this matter in the article and corrections were made to the text to attempt to address this. More importantly, the focus today should not be on the risks that lawyers or journalists faced in the past. The focus should be on the risks of free speech in today's Egypt. We consider it a promising sign that President Sisi has stated that he would consider pardoning Mr. Fahmy. It would be a promising sign if the authorities agreed to transfer him to Canada. Freeing Fahmy would finally send a message that journalists in Egypt will not be imprisoned for simply doing their job, and it would honor the aspirations of those who have marched for a new and more progressive Egyptian society.[/ltr]

[ltr]Amal Clooney
Mark Wassouf
Counsel for Mohamed Fahmy[/ltr]


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Great find, Jenn.  And hot off the presses!

Wow. This is big stuff. Definitely shedding light on one of the many crisis in the middle east.

If the court can drop all charges against someone like Husni Mubarak, the ex Egyptian president who has ordered the murder and imprisonment of so many of his people, just like that, surely they can also pretend that the 3 journalists did nothing but report the news.
This is a country where even comedians who dare to poke fun at the system are threatened. I am talking about Bassem Youssef, a very talented Egyptian comedian, who was on Jon Stewart at some point last year and who had to cancel his show due to threats to his safety. This is real stuff and real threats from a government that does not care about public opinion. I think that Amal Clooney's safety is very much threatened if she goes to Egypt..
Which is why I am very impressed with her and glad of the publicity she is bringing to this crisis.

LizzyNY wrote: I'm sure the threat was to the whole legal team, yet the only one the media are talking about is Amal. It gives her a prominence she doesn't deserve and minimalizes the importance of all the other lawyers working on the case.

Yes, but that's not something she can do anything about. Because she's married to George, the media will focus everything on her and she has no control over what's written about her by a free, but idiot, press.

The article in Huffington Post is interesting. She wasn't threatened by Egyptian Goverment Officials but warned by experts that she could be arrested if the report was launched in Cairo. This happened a year ago when there was another president in Egypt and before she was Fahmy's lawyer. The journalist in the Guardian has apologized for the misleading presentation. 

Hmmm...

Yep, excellent op-ed. 

And another bubble of oxygen for the story. 

And an opportunity for the current Egyptian government to do the 'right thing' and be less repressive than the previous one rather than more as seems to be the case with the judicial system at the moment

I'm glad she went public to clear things up and put the spotlight back on the case instead of on her. The experts the IBA consulted advised that the authors of the report could face arrest in Egypt. It would have been true no matter who had written the report - that Amal was one of the authors was just a gift to the media. I wonder if the stories will stop now that she's set the record straight and they can't use the headline "Amal Clooney Threatened With Arrest in Egypt"?

Yep.

Now it's the "experts" and the journalist who mis-reported the story who'd better keep their asses out of Egypt.

I believe if three jounalists can be arrested, tried and convicted on no evidence of any crimes against the Egyptian government I would not put it past them to be a threat to Amal or Mark Wassouf if they went to Cairo.
Fridaereval's comments earlier today make sense to me.

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Author of Guardian piece, based in Egypt.

I believe both of them actually. It just got misintepreted by the wider press who knew nothing of either the previous or  ongoing situation and just wanted the quick headline........

party animal - not! wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Author of Guardian piece, based in Egypt.

I believe both of them actually. It just got misintepreted by the wider press who knew nothing of either the previous or  ongoing situation and just wanted the quick headline........

There is a difference in referencing "experts" and "government officials". Since now we know it was experts who claimed Amal could be threatened with arrest if she went to Egypt, what experts. Kinglsley didn't ask Amal during the interview "what experts". In hindsight now it made a huge difference in the tone of the story. And misleading. Was it sloppiness on Amal and Kingsley for not qualifying who these experts were? Amal only referred to them as "experts" and "they". Did Kingsley realize that this story would make much bigger headlines if it was perceived that Egyptian officials had made the threat comments?

Mr Kingsley i think took Amal "at her word".
Only to Egypt call her out.
Then big big embarrassment.
Amal should know this would get to more than just showbiz headlines.  She not attend on January 1 hearing, and think this will cover all for future. BAD MOVE.

On internet she is looking to loose all credibility.  Sorry for her because she cause confusion over who wrote, then she, like a good lawyer would, take apart small mistake, not even I notice and make THAT mistake the problem, but all ppl see through that. and see only COVER UP  


SHE USE THE WORD ARREST, DON'T BLAME WRITER.

I think it is also recorded, so dangerous ground, I would not push this one.


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From his twitter.

Patrick Kingsley wrote:For the record, Amal Clooney checked and confirmed the quotation before publication.

So close after Sony ppl not liking the comparison.

This article has a different take on Al Jazeera and Amal Clooney.

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Silje - Thank you for finding this article. It's good to get a different perspective - especially one from someone so knowledgeable about the situation. His take on Al Jazeera is especially interesting, coming as it does from a moderate's point of view. I wondered if his experience with them might have colored his opinion, but it seems as if others back him up. Now I'm wondering if Amal's involvement might not hurt her client more than help him.

Hanania clearly has his own axe to grind and is muddying the waters.

Amal is representing Fahmy and attempting to get him released because she and her colleagues believe he has been treated unjustly by the Egyptian Authorities. She has no connection with Al Jazeera. The only connection is that Fahmy was working as a reporter for Al Jazeera. This does not mean Amal agrees with Al Jazeera's political leanings or their ways of operating. That is a completely different issue and not one that she would be tackling. She is a barrister not a politician, yet Hanania appears to be criticizing  Amal as though she were working for Al Jazeera and that she has some influence over them. It is unacceptable that he seems to be projecting his anti Al Jazeera feelings on Amal. Her duty is to her client not to take on Al Jazeera on Hanania's behalf. She's not Superwoman and cannot solve all the problems that Hanania perceives. That is not her job anyway.

That is my view Hanania's report.

Amal don't  work for Al Jazeera but I think her mother has worked for them.

If Amal is ONLY working as a lawyer for Fahmy to secure his release why does she bring up  that she was threatened with arrest when she was to publish a rapport a year ago. I seriously doubt the Guardian journalist misunderstood her and I hope he taped the interview. I find her statement in the Guardian very political, she is critizing the judicial system in Egypt. So this is Amal Clooney vs Egypt.

Amal and her colleagues are criticizing the Egyptian judicial system as they believe they have abused the human rights of their clients and that they have been unjustly imprisoned. As International Human Rights lawyers this is part of their jobs. It isn't just Amal but the team she is part of. Amal seems to have been singled out because she is married to George so has a higher profile. They will all be well versed on what they can legally do. There might also be a more senior barrister involved in this case.

Amal co-authored the report for the IBA back in February. In that report there were many criticisms of Egypt's judicial system. Her and her colleagues were warned of possible threats of arrest if they went to Cairo to launch the report. So they didn't go. At this point she wasn't even representing Fahmy. Now that she is there is concern that this threat still exists. She is not politicizing this case.

Jounalists have been known to be sloppy with their reporting and that may have been the case with The Guardian article. Maybe not. Maybe Amal misspoke and didn't clarify enough who actually were these experts in Egyptian affairs who were warning her and her colleagues. I don't know for sure. But I don't think she would jeopardize this case by deliberately lying. She is working this case with another attorney, Mark Wassouf. Their job is to represent their client to the best of their ability and defend his human rights. They are doing that. The fact that Amal is one of Fahmy's lawyers is bringing more attention than would probably be brought to this case and this misinterpretation of what Amal said is really distracting and getting way too much press. I would think she's not thrilled about it as she and her fellow attorney are trying to get a meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister to discuss Fahmy's case.

According to her husband - unless the journalist at the Globes 'misheard'! - Amal is in Egypt..............

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I joined a group of fellow journalists at a reception for George Clooney at Craig's in West Hollywood at the weekend. The bar-restaurant
was new to me but not to George, who said he goes there every year for a party after the Golden Globes. Maybe he shouldn't have let that slip out as up until now it has been a well-kept secret.
 During the evening George, who will receive the Cecil B. DeMille award at the Golden Globes on Sunday, was surprised by the legendary filmmaker's granddaughter, Cecilia DeMille Presley, who presented him with with a lavish coffee table book, Cecil Be DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic which she wrote with Mark Vieira..
  "My grandfather would have loved George," she told me. "He's fun, has a wonderful sense of humour and is a good actor. What's not to like about Clooney?"
   Clooney was on his own, explaining that his lawyer wife is currently in Egypt where she is negotiating for the release of one of the three al-Jazeera journalists jailed after being found guilty of spreading false news and supporting the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood organisation in June.
  "We'll get them out eventually but it might take time," George told me.

PAN, the link doesn't work..

Try clicking on the home button (in red at the top of Hiscock's page).

Yes.....clicking on the "Home" button brings access to his blogs.
Good find pan......thanks.

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I joined a group of fellow journalists at a reception for George Clooney at Craig's in West Hollywood at the weekend. The bar-restaurant
was new to me but not to George, who said he goes there every year for a party after the Golden Globes. Maybe he shouldn't have let that slip out as up until now it has been a well-kept secret.
 During the evening George, who will receive the Cecil B. DeMille award at the Golden Globes on Sunday, was surprised by the legendary filmmaker's granddaughter, Cecilia DeMille Presley, who presented him with with a lavish coffee table book, Cecil Be DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic which she wrote with Mark Vieira..
  "My grandfather would have loved George," she told me. "He's fun, has a wonderful sense of humour and is a good actor. What's not to like about Clooney?"
   Clooney was on his own, explaining that his lawyer wife is currently in Egypt where she is negotiating for the release of one of the three al-Jazeera journalists jailed after being found guilty of spreading false news and supporting the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood organisation in June.
  "We'll get them out eventually but it might take time," George told me.

party animal - not! wrote:Try clicking on the home button (in red at the top of Hiscock's page).

I found another link on Les Frenchies, but thank you anyway.

I hope so, she need to clear up mess she made herself.

"we'll get them out"  hahaha, no not George, not Amal.  PPL who do proper work.

If she not there, then George and Amal descend further into fairy story land, like Sony, Egypt, and this week?

So she made it to Egypt without the press knowing. And now George released the info by telling others. I'm sure the press in Egypt will look for her now. Wonder why he did that. It got already a lot of News coverage. Why telling the press where to find her?

And Interesting that he referes to "we" and not "she". It is is her work with other laywers. Maybe he wished to be a laywer like her instead of an actor....

Yes, what's up with the "we"? Maybe he feels left out?
And it's interesting that Amal went to Egypt unnoticed. All those sensational headlines for nothing.

Silje wrote:
Clooney was on his own, explaining that his lawyer wife is currently in Egypt where she is negotiating for the release of one of the three al-Jazeera journalists jailed after being found guilty of spreading false news and supporting the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood organisation in June.
"We'll get them out eventually but it might take time," George told me.

'We'll'? 'We'll'??

I don't follow him avidly but when did he become a human rights lawyer? Was it maybe while he was in Cabo over the NY? Was his annoyed face because the paps were interrupting his studying?

If it's true that Amal is in Egypt, then it obviously wasn't a last-minute thing, and the takeaway from the somehow-botched interview is that she was going, no matter what might happen.

As for the "We'll get them out" comment... Ever consider that he just meant 'we' as in 'the good guys?' Or that he's gotten used to speaking of his wife as a partner? Or any other explanation other than that George Clooney thinks he's an international lawyer?

Perhaps it would have been more appropriate if he'd said 'they'll' rather than 'we'll' since he himself is not involved. It makes him sound like he's taking ownership for someone else's work.

Perhaps. Probably. But he was speaking to somebody (if the quote/story is true) at an informal reception given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, not delivering an address before the UN. Cut the guy a break once in a while.

Nicky80 wrote:So she made it to Egypt without the press knowing. And now George released the info by telling others. I'm sure the press in Egypt will look for her now. Wonder why he did that. It got already a lot of News coverage. Why telling the press where to find her?

He wasn't talking to the press, I think he was talking with the people who were at the party, no press involved.
At least, that's how I got it.

The people at the party were the press. Hollywood Foreign Press Association members..........

Way2Old4Dis wrote:Perhaps. Probably. But he was speaking to somebody (if the quote/story is true) at an informal reception given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, not delivering an address before the UN. Cut the guy a break once in a while.

I'll cut him a break when I think it's deserved. Hope that's ok.

party animal - not! wrote:The people at the party were the press. Hollywood Foreign Press Association members..........

I thought that the HFPS had only organized the party, I didn't realize that HFPA members were there too.
I thought there were just people from the business, not even the press. 

" I joined a group of fellow journalists at a reception for George Clooney at Craig's in West Hollywood at the weekend."


I didn't read this, sorry  

I hope very much he was NOT heard right.  Otherwise.

Amal Clooney turn up in Cairo (when she could not to bother for trial) WITH excess baggage $$$$ of George Clooney money.  

"We'll get them out" alright in time for BIG homecoming at GG awards.

WOO HOO George and Amal double prize!!! and free ticket home after ticker tape parade in Canada.

You save the world AGAIN.

Lawyers talk a lot, money talk better.  jmo

Bellalique wrote:

Way2Old4Dis wrote:Perhaps. Probably. But he was speaking to somebody (if the quote/story is true) at an informal reception given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, not delivering an address before the UN. Cut the guy a break once in a while.

I'll cut him a break when I think it's deserved. Hope that's ok.

You have no idea how okay it is with me that an anonymous forum poster will cut George Clooney a break when s/he thinks George has earned it from him/her.

Amal might have been in and out of Egypt by the time this conversation hit the press. Or maybe it's better that the world knows she was/is there. Who knows? But I think George is in a better position to make the call than anybody.

Yep..........and the collective 'we' as in husband-and-wife 'we', or Western world 'we', or those close or not so close who want to see justice done, or........

So next time George talks about a film he is directing I am sure he will say we're directing.

George is a team player and it's not that unusual to hear him say 'we'.  Not really any delusions of grandeur, just an acknowledgement that it takes a lot of people to achieve things.