Egyptian photojournalist released after five years in jail

(dpa)



Cairo - An award-winning Egyptian photojournalist, Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known as Shawkan, was released on Monday after more than five years in prison.

 
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).


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