By Middle East correspondent Hayden Cooper, wires
Photo: Peter Greste (right) and an Al-Jazeera colleague stand in the defendants cage (AFP: Mahmoud Khaled)
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Egyptian prosecutors have demanded the "maximum" penalty for Australian journalist Peter Greste and his 19 co-defendants, urging the court to show no mercy.
Greste was arrested in December and accused of defaming Egypt and having ties to the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.
Five other Al Jazeera journalists, including the broadcaster's English channel Cairo bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy and producer Baher Mohamed, are also facing charges.
With the trial approaching its conclusion, the prosecution made its final summary in the case.
It said the relationship between Al Jazeera and the Muslim Brotherhood was like an alliance with the devil, and that Greste's reports intended to harm the Egyptian state.
The prosecutor asked for the maximum penalty.
"We request that the court, without compassion or mercy, apply the maximum penalty for the abominable crimes they have committed ... mercy for such (people) will bring the entire society close to darkness," prosecutor Mohamed Barakat told the court.
The trio could be jailed for 15 years, according to defence lawyer Ibrahim Abdel Wahab.
From within a cage in the courtroom, Greste told judge Mohamed Nagy Shehata that evidence had been falsified and asked to be acquitted.
"Prosecutors did not present a single piece of evidence - there wasn't a single piece of evidence in court," he said.
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"It was falsified, there weren't any facts that we got wrong. There was no story that we manipulated.
"[The prosecutor] spoke very much in generalisations and so we expect the judge to acknowledge the lack of any specific evidence and acquit us on that basis."
Defence lawyers also gave their final statements to the court, saying that just because a journalist films a protest does not mean they agree with the protesters.
The other defendants in the case - Egyptians who have been charged with joining the Brotherhood - could get prison terms of 25 years.
Nine of the 20 defendants are in detention, while others are being tried in absentia, including three foreign reporters who are abroad.
The trial comes against the backdrop of strained relations between Cairo and Qatar, which supports the Muslim Brotherhood movement of deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.
It has sparked an international outcry and calls for the release of the journalists, while Cairo insists the trial does not presage a wider crackdown on journalists.
Greste and Fahmy were in a caged dock on Thursday along with seven co-defendants, including some young students who have collaborated occasionally with the network.
Greste, Fahmy and others have regularly denounced the trial as "unfair" and "political", saying that the evidence against them has been "fabricated".
Family 'fears' maximum sentence
Mike Greste has told AM his brother remains in good spirits but the family is anxious.
"You just don't have any expectations, its safer that way," he said.
"So I guess in some ways ... its a shock to fear or think that they're asking for the maximum [sentence] and that's what you know Peter might receive."
Al Jazeera is meanwhile taking separate legal action against Egypt in an international tribunal.
The media company is seeking $US150 million in compensation from Egypt for the mistreatment of Al Jazeera journalists, including Greste, the jamming of Al Jazeera satellites broadcasting in Egypt and the closure of Al Jazeera's bureau in Cairo.
The defence case will continue when the trial resumes on June 16.
ABC/AFP
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