The Egyptian court that jailed Australian journalist Peter Greste and two other Al-Jazeera journalists for alleged ties with Islamists says "the devil guided" the group to spread false news defaming the country.
Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed were convicted in June of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood and spreading false news that portrayed Egypt as being in a state of "civil war".
Greste and Fahmy received seven-year terms, while Mohamed was jailed for 10 years, in a case that sparked international outrage and was deemed farcical by observers.
Eleven defendants tried in absentia, including one Dutch and two British journalists, were given 10-year sentences.
"The defendants took advantage of the noble profession of journalism ... and turned it from a profession aimed at looking for the truth to a profession aimed at falsifying the truth," the court said in a statement on Tuesday explaining its verdict.
"The devil guided them to use journalism and direct it toward activities against this nation," it said.
Since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, the authorities have been incensed by the Qatari network's coverage of the deadly crackdown on his supporters. They consider Al-Jazeera to be the voice of Qatar, and accuse Doha of backing Dr Mursi's Brotherhood, as the emirate openly denounces the repression of the movement's supporters which has killed more than 1400 people.
Sixteen of a total of 20 defendants in the trial were Egyptians accused of belonging to the Brotherhood, which the authorities designated a "terrorist organisation" in December.
Foreign defendants were alleged to have collaborated with and assisted their Egyptian co-defendants by providing media material, as well as editing and broadcasting it.
