Three journalists in Al-Jazerra were found guilty for spreading "false news" and sentenced to at least three years in prison each on Saturday, according to USA Today.
The Egyptian court found that Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed were not only guilty of endangering national security with false broadcasts, but the trio weren't real journalists and did not have a broadcast license, according to CNN.
However, the journalists claim that they were just trying to show as many sides as possible when covering Egyptian news. The acting director for the Al Jazeera Media Network spoke out against the verdict, saying it defied "logic and common sense."
The judge who presided over the case, Hassan Farid, said that the broadcast footage produced by the journalists was filled with "false news" and distributed with the intent of "harming the country."
After the trio spent up to 20 months battling the courts, spending more than a year in prison already, many are claiming the trial was not a fair proceeding and is indicative of the erosion of journalistic freedom in Egypt, The Guardian reported.
International attorney and celebrity wife Amal Clooney represented one of the journalists and spoke to reporters about the court's decision.
"It sends a message that journalists can be locked up for simply doing their job, for telling the truth and reporting the news," said Clooney, according to The Guardian. "And it sends a dangerous message that there are judges in Egypt who will allow their courts to become instruments of political repression and propaganda."
