By Ebi Kesiena
Al Jazeera correspondent Khaled El-Balshy and producer Hisham Abdelaziz have been released from detention in Egypt
According to the television channel on Monday, Egyptian authorities released Hisham Abdelaziz after he was held for almost four years in pre-trial detention.
Also released was TV correspondent El-Balshy and an al-Jazeera producer have been released from custody.
Two more Al Jazeera journalists, Bahauddin Ibrahim and Rabie al-Sheikh, are still being held in Egypt on similar charges.
Last September, Egyptian authorities also released Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed Al Nagdy from detention as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made his first visit to Doha since the two countries restored relations.
al-Sisi led the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi in 2013, after which Egypt accused Al Jazeera of being a mouthpiece for the group, which it has banned.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had boycotted Qatar since 2017 over charges it supported terrorism, an accusation that referred to Islamist groups and that Qatar denied.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) considers Egypt one of the world’s main jailers of journalists, with more than 20 reporters currently behind bars.
Rights groups say there are currently 60,000 political prisoners in Egypt, with many held on charges of “spreading false news”.
RSF ranks Egypt 168th out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index.
