Freed Al Jazeera journalist: I can’t get back my baby’s first 6 months

At Baher Mohamed’s home in Cairo, the Al Jazeera English journalist tries to get closer to his baby Haron, born while he was in prison.

“A few days ago I managed to make him smile,” Mohamed told CNN. “That’s great progress. I missed six months of his life and I can’t get those back.”

His two other kids, Hazem, 5, and Fayrouz, 4, won’t leave his side. For the 411 days he spent behind bars, they were told their father was at work.

“I told them every time they came to visit that I’m at work, I’m staying at work. They were still too young to live and to know about prison.”

Mohamed now spends most of his time at home, tiptoeing away when he occasionally leaves so his children don’t cry. And throughout the day he checks on Gatsby, his fur-heavy Caucasian Shepherd dog, that was shot by police who arrested Mohamed in December 2013.

Mohamed was arrested with colleagues Mohamed Fahmy and Peter Greste. They were brought to trial with 17 others on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization — the Muslim Brotherhood — threatening Egypt’s national security and airing false news, among others.

Eleven were tried in absentia. Not all were journalists, nor had a clear connection to Al Jazeera English.

“They arrested us, not only me, I think to intimidate other journalists, to scare other journalists,” said Mohamed, adding that the lack of evidence in court and disputes over legal representation are irrelevant in a case that is principally about press freedom.

Mohamed says it is a battle he is willing to sacrifice everything for, emboldened by the solidarity of colleagues.

Quoting an exchange of messages between him and jailed Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid Shawkan, he said: “When there is one journalist behind bars, all journalists all over the world stand together just to free him. It’s not about news organizations or networks, no. It’s about us, it’s about freedom of speech. This is what we stand for.”

Shawkan has been held without charge since August 2013. At least eight other journalists remain behind bars, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

On March 8, all defendants will return to court for the next hearing of their retrial. In the meantime, they enjoy the “mundane things in life,” which for Fahmy means having dinner with his fiancee, or talking with his mother with “no police cop watching you 24 hours a day.”

Mohamed is enjoying being behind the wheel of his car — and simply being outside. “I saw the colors of the skies and this blue and purple and red. This color and this view made me feel this is freedom. It was the first time to see the sunrise in 411 days.”

CNN