Egypt: Detained Al-Jazeera Journalist Mahmoud Hussein Released After 5 Years

Hussein was detained at the Cairo airport in December 2016, when he arrived on a family vacation from Doha, Al-Jazeera said in a statement

Associated Press

Updated on: 7 February 2021 10:18 am

Egyptian authorities on Saturday freed an Al-Jazeera journalist after he spent more than four years in detention, his family lawyer said.

Mahmoud Hussein walked free from a police station Saturday afternoon, a few days after a court ordered his conditional release pending investigations into charges of publishing false information and belonging to a banned group, lawyer Gamal Eid said.

“Today, we are pleased he is finally reunited with his family, after being robbed four years from his life and deprived of his fundamental rights,” the Al-Jazeera network said in a statement. The lawyer said Hussein will have to report to a nearby police station twice a week.

The journalist's daughter, el-Zahraa Hussein, confirmed the news in a Facebook post, saying her father had arrived home. Al-Jazeera also reported his release.

Hussein, an Egyptian working for the Qatar-based satellite network, was detained at the Cairo airport in December 2016, when he arrived on a family vacation from Doha, the network said.

Since the 2013 ouster of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian authorities and pro-government media have portrayed the Al-Jazeera network as Egypt's national enemy for its sympathy toward Islamists, especially the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

The network, especially its Arabic service, and its staff have been embroiled in the wider political rift between Cairo and Doha. Egyptian authorities have blocked Al-Jazeera's news website since 2017, along with dozens of other news sites deemed too critical of the government.

Hussein's release came a month after Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain ended their dispute with Qatar, which started in 2017 and included the four countries severing their diplomatic diplomatic and economic ties with energy-rich Qatar.

The four countries accused Qatar of cozying up to Iran and financing extremist groups in the region. Doha denied the charges. Al-Jazeera was at the center of the dispute. The four nations demanded its closure among other measures, which Qatar rejected.