Sissi frees 2 Al-Jazeera journalists

Baher Mohammed, Mohamed Fahmy released as part of mass Eid al-Adha pardon by Egyptian president

By Merrit Kennedy and Maram Mazen 23 September 2015, 9:58 pm Edit
In this Thursday, June 4, 2015 file photo, Canadian Al-Jazeera English journalist Mohamed Fahmy, left, and his Egyptian colleague Baher Mohammed listen in a courtroom in Tora prison in Cairo, Egypt. (AP/Amr Nabil)
In this Thursday, June 4, 2015 file photo, Canadian Al-Jazeera English journalist Mohamed Fahmy, left, and his Egyptian colleague Baher Mohammed listen in a courtroom in Tora prison in Cairo, Egypt. (AP/Amr Nabil)

CAIRO (AP) — The wife of a pardoned Canadian journalist for Al-Jazeera English said Wednesday he and his colleague have been released from prison.

Marwa Omara, wife of Mohamed Fahmy, told The Associated Press that her husband and his colleague, Egyptian national Baher Mohammed, were freed on Wednesday following a pardon from Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

The two journalists were arrested in December 2013, and the long-running case has been widely condemned by rights groups and international organizations.

They were among a group of 100 people pardoned by el-Sissi on the eve of the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. The pardon also comes a day before the Egyptian leader is to travel to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.

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