A court in Egypt has ordered the release on bail of two Al
Jazeera journalists being retried for allegedly aiding the banned Muslim
Brotherhood.
Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were imprisoned in June
along with their Australian colleague, Peter Greste.
But their convictions for spreading false news to help a
terrorist group were overturned on appeal last month.
Mr Greste was freed last week under a law allowing the
deportation of foreign nationals to their home countries.
Mr Fahmy has given up his Egyptian citizenship to qualify
for deportation to Canada, but Mr Mohamed has no foreign passport.
The journalists strenuously deny collaborating with the
banned Muslim Brotherhood after the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi by
the military in 2013. They say they were jailed simply for reporting the news.
'Nightmare'
Mr Fahmy and Mr Mohamed were led into a soundproof glass
cage - which allows judges to limit defendants' ability to protest or interrupt
proceedings - at the start of their retrial at the Cairo Criminal Court.
Mohamed Fahmy unfurled an Egyptian flag after testifying he was forced to give up his Egyptian citizenship
Mr Fahmy's fiancee, Marwa Omara, wept after the judge's decision and said they planned to get married soon
Mr Fahmy - his arm in a sling because of an injury he suffered
before his arrest in December 2013 - was later allowed out of the dock
to address the court.
"A security official visited me and asked I drop my
citizenship because the state wanted to get this case done with, it had
become a nightmare," he said before unfurling an Egyptian flag.
After a brief recess, Judge Hassan Farid adjourned
proceedings until 23 February and ordered that the two men be released,
along with 11 other defendants - most of them students - charged with
involvement with a terrorist group.
He set bail for Mr Fahmy at 250,000 Egyptian pounds ($33,000; £22,000), while Mr Mohamed was freed without bail.
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