Al-Jazeera Journalists Accused of "Joining or Aiding a Terrorist Organization" Begin Trial in Egypt

As Egypt's democracy continues to degrade under the rule of Gen. Sisi, the lives of three journalists from the Qatar based news agency Al-Jazeera have been watched closely since they were arrested on the 29th of December. The journalists (Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste, and Baher Mohamed) along with five others were refused bail before their was adjourned until the 5th of March according to an article from the BBC. The 3 journalists have been accused of joining or aiding a terrorist organization, this organization being the Muslim Brotherhood, or the political party of the recently deposed President Mohammed Morsi. The three deny all of the charges brought against them and many in the West believe this is just another example of basic rights and freedoms being denied under the interim Egyptian government. The courtroom in which the trial is to take place is actually within the Tora prison in Cairo and the defendants appeared in metal cages, though they contest that the prisons are "physically fine, but psychologically unbearable". The other defendants whom Al-Jazeera claims are not their journalists have complained of various physical as well as psychological torture. Though this case has been receiving a great deal of attention for its blatant disregard for the freedom of speech it is not the first time the new Egyptian government has done something similar to this an example of such being when they referred Amr Hamzawy, who is a former MP, to trial for a tweet he wrote questioning a court ruling.