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At one point in his ordeal, Fahmy renounced his Egyptian citizenship in a gambit to persuade the al-Sisi government to deport him under an Egyptian law that allows foreign nationals convicted of crimes to be sent back to their home country. It worked for his colleague Greste, but not for Fahmy. He continued to languish in jail for several months until his final conviction.

“Aside from the hefty financial, emotional and physical price me and my family paid in this case, I think it’s a matter of principle for me to get my Egyptian citizenship back,” said Fahmy, who spoke Monday night at Carleton University at an event sponsored by the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom.

Photo by Ashley Fraser / Ottawa Citizen

“I didn’t want to give up my Egyptian citizenship but I was advised — some call it coerced — to drop my citizenship because this was the best way to gain my release,” he said. “I got assurances from both the Canadian government and the Egyptian government that this was the best way to go. But then they threw me back in the cage rather than release me in the same way as Peter (Greste).”

In early October, within days of his return to Canada, Fahmy denounced the Conservative government for not doing enough to get him out of prison. During a news conference with NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, Fahmy said he felt former prime minister Stephen Harper had “betrayed” him.

Fahmy reiterated that sentiment in Monday’s interview before his speaking event. He remains bitter about what he sees as Harper’s unwillingness to use the prestige of his office to help get him out of prison. Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott actively intervened to gain the release of Peter Greste.