BURREN Junction farm manager Andrew Greste isn’t used to being thrown into the spotlight – he normally leaves that up to his famous brother, award-winning journalist Peter Greste.
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But that is exactly the position Mr Greste found himself in recently when he made a mercy dash to Cairo’s notorious Tora Prison to be by his brother’s side as he stood trial accused of “airing false news”.
Documenting the cotton farmer-turned-diplomat’s every move as he meets Egyptian and Australian officials, and attends court where Peter Greste unsuccessfully applied for bail, was an SBS Dateline television crew.
In the emotionally-charged segment, aired just days after he landed in the metropolis, Mr Greste describes his decision to leave the relative safety of home on a cotton and grain station near Wee Waa.
“He’s my brother and family,” he said.
“That means everything and we’d drop anything for family.”
A day after arriving in Cairo, the father-of-three is granted a 45-minute visit with Peter, the first the former BBC reporter had been allowed in about two weeks.
“I want to be strong for him, I don’t want to go to pieces,” Mr Greste tells the SBS correspondent before entering the compound.
Peter Greste and seven of his Al Jazeera colleagues have been held for more than two months accused of supporting the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood – the party of ousted president Morsi.
Mr Greste remains in Egypt and is expected to return to the high security prison today as his brother again fronts court.
