Journalists and human rights campaigners stood with their mouths gagged in front of the Egyptian embassy yesterday, marking the first anniversary of the arrest of three Al-Jazeera journalists.

Over 50 protesters — including colleagues of Peter Greste, Baher Mohammed and Mohammed Fahmy — came to the silentl vigil, many symbolically handcuffed and with their mouths taped shut.

They held up large black placards emblazoned with the slogans: “Free them now,” “Journalism is not a crime” and “Standing up for journalism.”

Former Channel 4 News reporter Sue Turton attended the protest after having been sentenced alongside the trio to 10 years in absentia.

“The message is ‘enough is enough.’ Our guys have now been in prison for 365 days,” she said.

Ms Turton — who had been working for Al-Jazeera in Cairo — added there was “nothing suspicious about the way that we were reporting there.”

On January 1 the case of Mr Greste, Mr Mohammed and Mr Fahmy will be heard by the Court of Cassation.

The court will then rule on whether the journalists have the right to appeal their convictions.

Ms Turton, however, did not feel positive about the process saying: “It could be months before the retrial happens, so we’re looking into 2016.”

“So although there is a glimmer of hope that something positive could come out of that, if they stick with the letter of the law in Egypt we could be looking a long time into the future.”

The three Al-Jazeera correspondents were arrested during police raids to journalists’ homes and offices, accused by the Egyptian government of aiding the Muslim Brotherhood by giving it a media platform and equipment.

They were tried and found guilty of news reporting that was “damaging to national security” in June this year, with Mr Greste and Mr Fahmy receiving seven-year sentences and Mr Mohammed 10 years behind bars.