Egypt frees, deports jailed Al-Jazeera journalist

Jailed al-Jazeera journalist Peter Greste has been deported from Egypt, state media say, and is flying to Cyprus. The Australian ex-BBC correspondent was arrested in December 2013 and imprisoned last June on charges that included spreading false news. He was jailed with two other al-Jazeera men – Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed. Presidential sources said Mr Fahmy would be deported to Canada after his dual Egyptian nationality was dropped. All the defendants denied the charges against them and said their trial was a sham. They were accused of collaborating with the banned Muslim Brotherhood after the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi by the military in 2013. The three men said they were simply reporting the news. Mr Greste’s brother Andrew said in a statement: “We’re ecstatic that Peter has been released and we now ask if the world could respect his privacy, to give him time to appreciate his freedom before he faces the media.”