Peter Greste trial: Family strong in face of *psychological torture* (ABC)

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The seven-year sentence given to Peter Greste in Egypt marks yet another chapter in the "torturous" ordeal facing the Australian journalist's family.

The despair on the face of Andrew Greste told the story, as the judge convicted his brother of collaborating with the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Peter Greste's two Al Jazeera colleagues, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, were also convicted and sentenced to seven and 10 years in jail respectively.

Middle East correspondent Hayden Cooper summed up the chaotic court scene and the situation confronting the Greste family:

"I heard (Peter Greste's brother) Mike saying that this is the death of democracy in Egypt, if ever it was alive in the first place.

"Seven years in jail is very difficult for them to take. Their immediate reaction was just shock. Utter, utter shock.

"I think the families will now probably lock down and try to figure out what to do. It's very difficult to imagine what the future holds now for Peter.

"An appeal is going to take some time. It's not going to happen in a hurry."

Family resilient in the face of adversity

Greste's mother Lois once described him as a "strong character", but the resilience of the entire family has been on display since his arrest in late December.

Since Greste's jailing in Egypt, his Queensland-based parents, Juris and Lois, have spoken often about their son's plight and drawn on the strength of their supporters.

Greste and his Al Jazeera English colleagues were accused of spreading false news and aiding the Muslim Brotherhood. All three denied the charges.

Despite the difficult circumstances facing them, Juris and Lois have volunteered their voices to their son's campaign.

"You find strength and skills that you never knew you had, and dare I say we're drawing on each other and capabilities that we've never had to call upon," Juris Greste previously told 7.30.

Lois Greste has also credited the Australian public with helping to get the family through the ordeal.

"It has been tremendous, otherwise truly we wouldn't have been able to keep ourselves together and maintain the very intense campaign that this has turned into," she said.

Greste's brothers, Mike and Andrew, have both spent stints in Cairo offering support to their brother during the trial process.

Earlier this month, Mike Greste told AM the family was trying to keep its feelings in check.

"You just don't have any expectations, it's safer that way," he said.

"I guess in some ways ... it's a shock to fear or think that they're asking for the maximum [sentence] and that's what Peter might receive."

Trial process 'a form of psychological torture'

But the long, drawn-out process has taken its toll on the family.

In April, a day after Greste was denied bail for the second time, Juris Greste spoke about the pain his son's ongoing detention was causing the family.

"I don't want to start debates about torture, what is torture, but really, this process is a form of psychological torture to the extended family," he said.

"I don't want to blow it out of all proportion, but it makes it look so painfully, so excruciatingly unnecessary."

In March, Andrew Greste expressed his frustration at how long the process was taking, saying it was "tough" to leave his brother and return to Australia.

"There was a certain amount of regret and sadness that I left Cairo on my own because obviously I was hoping to be able to walk out of there together," he said.

But the family's poise in the face of adversity has been a constant throughout the ordeal.

Queensland lawyer John Sneddon, who represented Australian businessman Marcus Lee after he was charged with fraud in Dubai, praised the way Greste's family handled the situation.

"I think everything the family is doing is correct," he told ABC 612 Brisbane.

"I take my hat off to them. I think they are handling the matter very well.

"I am really amazed at how dignified they have been."

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