CAIRO (AP) – Canadian Al-Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy was released from an Egyptian prison on Friday, after spending more than a year behind bars on terror-related charges in a case that was denounced as a sham by rights groups and the international community. He was let out pending a retrial.
Fahmy’s brother tweeted that he posted $33,000 bail following a court decision on Thursday that allowed him to walk free after more than 400 days in detention. It was not clear if Fahmy’s colleague, Al-Jazeera journalist Baher Mohammed, was also being released. A third co-worker, Australian Peter Greste, was freed two weeks ago and deported to his home-country, Australia.
Now that he is out, Fahmy’s next court hearing is due Feb. 23 and he has to check in at a police station every day until then.
Thursday’s decision indicated the court was moving ahead with a retrial of Fahmy and Mohammed, but several scenarios are possible.
The court could eventually throw out the case, acquit them, convict them but sentence them to time served, or impose more prison time, with the possibility of a pardon from President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.