DHAKA: Hundreds of journalists are due to gather in London to protest against the seven-year jail terms given to three al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt.

Earlier on Monday a court in Cairo found Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed guilty of spreading false news.

The trio had denied the charges and are expected to appeal, reports the BBC.

Juris Greste, father of Peter Greste told reporters in Brisbane that the family was ‘devastated’ and ‘shocked’ by the verdict.

‘This is a very dark time, not only for our family but for journalism generally,’ Juris Greste said, describing the ruling as a ‘slap in the face’ to ‘all fair-minded people around the world’.

‘Journalism is not a crime, or you should all be behind bars,’ he added.

Hopes are now pinned on the possibility of a pardon from Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, our correspondent says.

The jail terms handed out to the three journalists accused of supporting Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood led to an international outcry.

The White House said that jailing journalists because their reporting did not fit the government ‘narrative’ was ‘a blow to democratic progress in Egypt’.

Al-Jazeera, which is based in Qatar, was banned from operating inside Egypt after being accused of broadcasting reports sympathetic to former President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Jazeera has consistently denied the allegations.

Human rights group Amnesty said the trial was a ‘vindictive farce’ and part of the ‘ongoing row’ between Egypt and Qatar, which backs the Muslim Brotherhood.

Eleven defendants tried in absentia, including three foreign journalists, received 10-year sentences. Two of the journalists convicted in absentia are British.

In a statement, al-Jazeera English’s managing director Al Anstey said the sentence ‘defies logic, sense, and any semblance of justice’.

BDST: 1142 HRS, JUNE 24, 2014