A post on his Twitter account said he was free, with a picture of him on the street.
Shawkan had been in jail since August 14, 2013, when he was arrested while covering a demonstration in Cairo by supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.
He was accused of being part of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, which Egyptian authorities had declared a terrorist organization.
He was sentenced to five years in prison in August, but his release was expected since he had already served more than five years in pre-trial detention.
In the same case, 75 people were sentenced to death for participating in the sit-in.
Shawkan in April won the 2018 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize. In 2016, he also received the International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Shawkan had been in jail since August 14, 2013, when he was arrested while covering a demonstration in Cairo by supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.
He was accused of being part of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, which Egyptian authorities had declared a terrorist organization.
He was sentenced to five years in prison in August, but his release was expected since he had already served more than five years in pre-trial detention.
In the same case, 75 people were sentenced to death for participating in the sit-in.
Shawkan in April won the 2018 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize. In 2016, he also received the International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).