Egyptian authorities have released Mahmoud Hussein, an Egyptian journalist working for Qatar's Al Jazeera television network who had been held in pre-trial detention for more than four years.
A Cairo court ordered Hussein's release with "precautionary measures" pending investigations on February 1, his brother Nageh Hussein and lawyer Taher Abou al Nasr told Reuters news agency on Saturday.
BREAKING: Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Hussein released from jail in Egypt https://t.co/XdGPRgb8C0 pic.twitter.com/UVx2uF1xdW
— Al Jazeera News (@AJENews) February 6, 2021
It was not immediately clear what the release conditions were but Nageh Hussein said his brother may be required to spend several hours every Saturday and Tuesday in a police station.
The 54-year-old Egyptian national was released on Thursday from a Cairo prison, a security source, and his daughter Azzahra Hussein confirmed to AFP news agency.
"His father died before witnessing this moment, he was waiting for it for a long time," Hussein's mother told AFP before her son's arrival.
Victim of Gulf row?
Hussein, who was detained in December 2016 after arriving Cairo from Doha for a vacation, was being held on charges of spreading false news, joining a banned group and receiving foreign funds.
Mahmoud Hussein, a journalist with Qatar's Al Jazeera network, returns home after four years in Egyptian jail, amid thawing ties between the countries https://t.co/LCohsS0dkA
— TRT World (@trtworld) February 6, 2021
He was released several weeks after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt agreed in January to restore diplomatic, trade, and travel ties with Qatar severed in 2017 over allegations that Qatar supported militants, a charge that Doha denies.
"Even though there are bail conditions... Dad is out of the police station, thank God. Freedom to all those oppressed," his other daughter based in Paris, Aya Hussein, said on Twitter.
Al Jazeera welcomes Hussein's release
Al Jazeera Media Network welcomed the news.
"...no journalist should ever be subjected to what Mahmoud has suffered for the past four years for merely carrying out his profession," the TV network said in a statement on its website.
"Today, we are pleased he is finally reunited with his family, after being robbed four years from his life and deprived of his fundamental rights."
Egypt freed three Al Jazeera journalists, including an Australian, an Egyptian-Canadian and an Egyptian, in 2015 after more than one year in detention pending trial.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
