Al Jazeera Journalist Released After 4 Years in Egyptian Pre-Trial Detention

Al Jazeera announced on Monday that Hisham Abdel Aziz, a correspondent detained in Egypt since 2019, has been released after nearly four years in pre-trial detention. Abdel Aziz, a producer with Al Jazeera’s Mubasher channel, was stopped at Cairo International Airport in June 2019 while traveling for a family trip.

Egyptian authorities have not acknowledged his release, and the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has not responded to requests for comment. Khaled el-Balshy, head of Egypt’s Journalists’ Union, confirmed that Abdel Aziz was freed on Sunday.

Al Jazeera has been targeted by Cairo since Egypt’s 2013 military takeover that installed Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as president. The Qatar-funded network extensively covered protests led by the Muslim Brotherhood, angering Egypt’s military government.

Abdel Aziz’s release comes as Qatar normalizes its diplomatic relations with countries that had boycotted it, including Egypt. El-Sisi attended the opening of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar last year at the invitation of its ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Al Jazeera reports that two more of its journalists remain detained by Egypt.