CAIRO — President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt expressed disappointment in remarks published Monday at the conviction of three journalists from Al Jazeera’s English-language service, saying that their sentences had “negative consequences” and that he preferred that the journalists be deported rather than put on trial.

Mr. Sisi’s comments were his first public criticism of a case that has focused international condemnation on the Egyptian government, and they appeared to raise the possibility of a presidential pardon for the journalists, who were all sentenced last month to at least seven years in prison on charges that they had conspired with the Muslim Brotherhood to broadcast false news. One defendant, Baher Mohamed, was given an additional three years in prison for possession of a weapon: a single spent bullet casing he had recovered from a street protest.

The journalists — Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Mr. Mohamed — were arrested in December in a Cairo hotel while filing reports for Al Jazeera. Human rights advocates called the charges ludicrous, and prosecutors failed to present any evidence during the trial that the men, experienced journalists who have worked for international news organizations, had falsified news or endorsed violence.

It was unclear Monday whether Mr. Sisi was also criticizing the convictions of a group of university students who were tried along with the journalists. After the verdict, he said he would not interfere in the case of the three journalists.