`` As we approach the end of our first year in prison , I can not help but feel proud and strengthened by all that has been achieved so far , '' said journalist Peter Greste in a letter from a Cairo jail cell . In the letter , released just a few days before Christmas , the Al Jazeera journalist praises his supporters fighting not just for his release , but also for the freedom of the press worldwide . `` We have galvanized an incredible coalition of political , diplomatic and media figures , as well as a vast army of social media supporters to fight for that most basic of rights : the right to know , '' the former BBC correspondent wrote . Last June , an Egyptian court sentenced Greste and his colleagues Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed to seven years in prison on charges of disseminating false news and supporting a terrorist organization . The three men have steadfastly denied the charges and the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera network has said `` they were just doing their job covering and challenging all sides of the story in Egypt . '' But this week Qatar shut down an Al Jazeera-run affiliate accused by the Cairo government of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood , a group now considered a terror organization by Egypt . Some experts have suggested that the move signals a cooling of tensions between Qatar and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al Sisi , who overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood and imprisoned much of its leadership last year . This may bode well for the imprisoned journalists , they say . `` We have n't won this fight yet -- we are still behind bars after all -- but we have made our cause abundantly and unequivocally clear , '' the letter reads . `` And for that reason , it really is a very good Christmas . ''
Al Qaeda journalist Peter Greste releases letter from Cairo jail . He and two others were arrested last June on charges of ` ` disseminating false news '' The three have denied the charges .