CAIRO: Jihan Rashed, the wife of Al-Jazeera Journalist Baher Mohamed, said that “life changed” after she heard that her imprisoned husband was pardoned and will “spend Eid al-Adha holiday” with them, she told The Cairo Post Wednesday.
Rashed was at prison visiting Mohamed one hour before Sisi issued a presidential pardon to 100 youth, including her husband and Canadian Journalist Mohamed Fahmy, who were sentenced to three years in prison over terror-related charges last month.
“I don’t know what to say, thank God!” Rashed said, adding “Eid al-Adha was not a holiday before I heard the good news. I was not planning to go anywhere, but now, we will go everywhere.”
She said that “[Mohamed] was optimistic at today’s visit as usual. He told me he feels that he would be released but did not know when.”
Rashed used to tell their children that Mohamed was at work when they asked about his absence. “I still cannot believe he is coming back,” she added. She previously told The Cairo Post how the jail sentence deeply affected her and her family.
Mohamed was sentenced to six extra months over the charge of possessing a single bullet, which he said that it was a “souvenir” that he picked from the revolution in Libya when he was assigned to cover it for the Japanese Asahi newspaper.
She added that time of his release has not yet been confirmed, “he might be out tonight or tomorrow.”