Egypt releases Australian Al-Jazeera reporter

FILE - In this Monday, March 31, 2014 file photo, Al-Jazeera English correspondent Peter Greste, appears in court along with several other defendants during their trial on terror charges, in Cairo, Egypt. A senior Egyptian prison official and the country's official news agency say Greste has been freed from prison and is on his way to Cairo airport to leave the country. (AP Photo/Heba Elkholy, El Shorouk, File) EGYPT OUT FILE - In this Monday, March 31, 2014 file photo, Al-Jazeera English correspondent Peter Greste, appears in court along with several other defendants during their trial on terror charges, in Cairo, Egypt. A senior Egyptian prison official and the country's official news agency say Greste has been freed from prison and is on his way to Cairo airport to leave the country. (AP Photo/Heba Elkholy, El Shorouk, File) EGYPT OUT

By Associated Press February 1, 2015 1 min read

CAIRO (AP) – A Cairo airport official says Al-Jazeera’s Australian reporter Peter Greste has left Egypt on a flight to Cyprus after his release from prison.

He says Greste is on an EgyptAir flight to Larnaca, Cyprus that took off shortly after 4 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Sunday.

Earlier, an Egyptian prison official and the nation’s official news agency said Greste was released after more than a year behind bars following a presidential “approval.”

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohammed Fahmy, and Egyptian Mohammed Baher were sentenced to at least seven years in prison on terrorism-related charges last year in a trial described as a sham by rights groups. There was no immediate word on the other two journalists.