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Three Al Jazeera English journalists are set to appear in court in Egypt on charges of spreading false news and belonging to a "terrorist group".

Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed appeared in court for the first time on February 21 but their trial was then adjourned to March 5.

Al Jazeera English correspondent Greste, an award-winning journalist, Egypt bureau chief, Mohamed Fahmy and producer Baher Mohamed were arrested on December 29, taken from their hotel in Cairo, and accused of spreading false news and belonging to a "terrorist group."

Abdullah Al Shamy from Al Jazeera's Arabic channel has been detained for more than six months without charge and has been on a hunger strike since January 23.

Al Jazeera rejects the charges against its staff.

Journalists at 40 locations across the globe staged vigils in solidarity with the jailed Al Jazeera staff on February 27th in a global day of action, highlighting the need for press freedom.

All Al Jazeera staff gathered in the newsroom of its Doha headquarters for a silent protest, and Greste was elected chairman of the Foreign Correspondents Association of East Africa in absentia.

Institutions including the US White House, the European Union and the United Nations have called for the release of the journalists, and for press freedoms to be upheld.

Freedom of speech in Egypt has been the focus of mounting global concern since the government adopted a hardline approach towards journalists.

The country has been ranked the third deadliest destination for journalists in 2013 by the Committee to Protect Journalists.