Al-Jazeera journalist freed from jail

Al-Jazeera journalist Peter Greste was released from a Cairo jail on Sunday and left Egypt after 400 days in prison on charges that included aiding a terrorist group, security officials said.

There was no official word on the fate of his two Al-Jazeera colleagues - Canadian-Egyptian Mohammed Fahmy and Egyptian citizen Baher Mohammed - who were also jailed in a case that provoked an international outcry.

The three were sentenced to between seven and 10 years on charges including spreading lies to help a terrorist organization - a reference to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

A security official said Fahmy was expected to be released from Cairo's Tora prison within days. His fiancee Marwa Omara said: "His deportation is in its final stages. We are hopeful."

Canada's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it, too, was hopeful that Fahmy's case would be resolved shortly.

Egyptian authorities accuse Al-Jazeera of being a mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi toppled in 2013 when he was Egypt's army chief.

Surprising timing

The timing of Greste's release came as a surprise, just days after Egypt suffered one of the bloodiest militant attacks in years. More than 30 members of the security forces were killed on Thursday night in Sinai, and ensuing comments from Sisi suggested he was in no mood for compromise.

The Interior Ministry said that Sisi released Greste under a decree issued in November authorizing the president to approve the deportation of foreign prisoners.

Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Greste flew to Cyprus from Cairo. "He was immensely relieved and he was desperate to come home to Australia and reunite with his family," Bishop said.

Al-Jazeera said its campaign to free its journalists from Egypt would not end until all three were released.

The case has contributed to tensions between Egypt and Qatar, though speculation had been rising that Saudi mediation had improved relation, raising the possibility that Sisi would deport or pardon the journalists.

They were detained in December 2013 and charged with helping "a terrorist group" by broadcasting lies that harmed national security.

Reuters 0 AP - AFP - Xinhua