Egypt sets journalists free from pretrial detention

Egyptian authorities released Monday Al-Jazeera journalist, Hesham Abdel Aziz, and journalist Raouf Ebeid from pretrial detention, reports say.
Abdel Aziz, a journalist at Al Jazeera Mubasher, was arrested on 20 June 2019 at Cairo International Airport.
He was later accused of belonging to a banned group, and remained in custody until December 2019.
Aziz’s health conditions were deteriorating while in prison. Prior to his arrest, Abdel Aziz reportedly had undergone two operations on his right eye as he suffers from glaucoma.
The journalist per an ophthalmologist consultant’s report, has previously undergone an operation for his eye and needs medical care for his condition. Raouf Ebeid, on the other hand, was arrested in July from his home in Cairo. Authorities charged Ebeid with belonging to a terrorist group and spreading false news, without stating the reason for the charges.
Ebeid is diabetic and was not receiving any medical care in prison. In a statement, the Egypt’s Journalists Syndicate welcomed the release of Ebeid and Abdel Aziz, hoping that such a step paves the way for the release of the rest of the detained journalists. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Egypt is one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists, with many spending years in jail and solitary confinement without being formally charged or tried.
The media freedom watchdog says that more than 500 websites have been blocked since the summer of 2017, including news outlets. According to data from RSF, Egypt ranked 166th out of 180 countries in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index.