Australian journalist Peter Greste, who with two of his al-Jazeera colleagues is being tried in an Egyptian court for colluding with the Muslim Brotherhood to falsify news, has described their ordeal as “a massive injustice regardless of the outcome”.

Mr Greste, Canadian Egyptian bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy and their Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed, along with 17 others being tried in absentia, are accused of conspiring with the now-banned Brotherhood to damage Egypt’s reputation.

The seventh day of their trial in an Egyptian court coincided with World Press Freedom Day, an irony lost on no one who attended the court.

“You cannot have a free society without a free press,” Mr Greste said from the defendant’s cage during a break in court proceedings. “In Egypt today you cannot provide balance [while there is the threat that] you can end up in prison like us.

“We recognise the significance of this trial falling on World Press Freedom Day, this is a very clear message.”