CAIRO: An Egyptian court on Sunday postponed for a second time its verdict in the retrial of three Al-Jazeera journalists, rescheduling it for Aug. 29.

The court had already put off its much anticipated verdict last Thursday because the presiding judge Hassan Farid was reportedly ill.

Another judge at Sunday’s hearing said the verdict was being delayed again because other defendants in the trial could not be brought to the court room from their cells. “The accused are not present for security reasons, so the court decided to postpone the verdict to Aug. 29,” said judge Ahmed Yousry.

Australian Peter Greste, Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were jailed last year for “spreading false news” that supported the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood during their coverage of the turmoil after the army ousted President Muhammad Mursi in 2013.

Fahmy, Baher and several other defendants in the trial were released on bail at the start of the retrial early this year, but at least three other defendants have been jailed in separate cases.

Defense lawyer Shaaban Said said there was no political reason for postponing the verdict.

“The (presiding) judge is ill and he can not come. Legally the verdict can not be delivered by a new judge,” he said.