Egypt has freed an Al-Jazeera journalist after 400 days in prison on charges that include spreading false news and helping the Muslim Brotherhood.
Australian national Peter Greste was arrested in December 2013 and freed Sunday, but his fellow journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed remain in detention, BBC News reported. Fahmy could be deported to Canada, however, Mohamed holds dual citizenship in Egypt and Canada. But, he could be freed if his Egyptian nationality gets revoked.
All three defendants denied the charges against them and claimed the trial was fixed. The three journalists were accused of working with the banned Muslim Brotherhood after the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi by the military in 2013. The journalists said they were only doing their jobs: reporting the news.
Egypt's current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a new law that allows foreign prisoners to be deported, thus setting Greste free Sunday, according to ABC Online. Greste went straight to the airport with his brother and flew to Cyprus before heading home to Australia.
Greste was sentenced to seven years in prison in June 2014. Fahmy was also sentenced to seven years in prison, while Mohamed was sentenced to ten years. A security official said Fahmy will be deported under the new law within a few days.
An Egyptian appeals court ordered a retrial of the three journalists in January, but Greste's parents fought to have their son deported before the retrial could take place.