After more than four years in prison, a journalist for the Qatari news channel al-Jazeera has been conditionally released in Egypt. The dpa news agency reported yesterday with reference to people familiar with the matter. According to the information, a court ordered the release of Mahmud Hussein subject to conditions. It was said that he had already returned to his family.
The Egyptian citizen was arrested in December 2016 while entering Egypt from the Qatari capital Doha, where he worked. The authorities accused him of spreading fake news and of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in Egypt. His release was ordered in May 2019, but he was sent to prison again on new allegations.
Al Jazeera journalists have been arrested several times in the past and some have been convicted in absentia. The Egyptian authorities accuse the Qatar-funded station of reporting unilaterally and spreading propaganda by the Muslim Brotherhood. The company always denied the allegations.
