CAIRO, Jun 4 (Aswat Masriya) - The charges Australian journalist Peter Greste is facing in Egypt's court do not fall within the scope of crimes punishable by Australian laws, the national's embassy told the court on Thursday.

Greste is being retried alongside other Al-Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed for defaming Egypt and spreading false news, after the Cassation Court dropped their seven to 10 years in prison sentences in January.  

The Australian journalist was released from prison on February 1 after spending 400 days in prison. His release was per a presidential decree issued last November that allows deportation of foreign defendants and convicts "whenever the [state's] supreme interest necessitates so." 

Though immediately deported to Australia upon his release, Greste remains facing trial in absentia and risks being found guilty if he fails to attend the court hearings, he told Reuters last Friday.

In the Australian embassy's letter to the court, the embassy stressed that Greste has not committed any crimes that could incriminate him. The letter was submitted to the court by the defence team.

The trial was adjourned until June 11.

The three journalists were arrested in Cairo while working for the Qatari network in December 2013. They had initially been sentenced to prison in June 2014, before they appealed their sentences, opting for a retrial.

Fahmy and Mohamed were released from custody on February 12. They are being tried from outside prison.

The defendants face the charges of joining an illegal group established to stall the constitution, prevent state institutions from carrying out their duties, assault personal freedoms, harm national unity and social peace, target public facilities and endanger the society's safety and security.

Press freedom in Egypt has lately come under scrutiny. The state faced grave criticism after a Cairo court sent the three Al-Jazeera journalists to prison last June. 

Human rights watchdog Amnesty international said in a statement published on World Press Freedom Day (May 3) that there are at least 18 currently detained journalists in Egypt.

The group said that journalist face "acute dangers including arbitrary arrest, indefinite detention without charge, prosecution and intimidation."