After Four Years in Prison, Egypt Releases Al-Jazeera Journalist

A journalist with Qatar’s Al Jazeera network, Mahmoud Hussein, on Saturday arrived at his Cairo home after spending four years in an Egyptian jail, AFP reported.

The Egyptian national was released on Thursday from a Cairo prison. AFP confirmed this from a security source and his daughter, Azzahra Hussein. However, bail conditions were still under discussion.

Hussein's father died during the four years of his incarceration his mother told reporters.

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The journalist's mother was cheered by a throng of relatives and supporters who had set up colorful lights in celebration of Hussein’s return.

The journalist’s other daughter based in Paris, Aya Hussein, said on Twitter that, “Even though there are bail conditions… Dad is out of the police station, thank God. Freedom to all those oppressed.”

Hussein is being released two weeks after Egypt and Qatar restored diplomatic ties, following a three-year Saudi-led freeze on relations with Doha, with a particular focus on Al Jazeera’s coverage.

The Doha-based network in a statement on Saturday said, “Al Jazeera Media Network welcomes the news of Mahmoud’s freedom, and believes that no journalist should ever be subjected to what Mahmoud has suffered for the past four years for merely carrying out his profession.”