EGYPT: PRESIDENT AL SISI PARDONS TWO JAILED AL JAZEERA REPORTERS

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi pardoned two imprisoned Al Jazeera journalists, resolving a case that drew international condemnation on the day before he was to leave for an annual gathering of heads of state at the United Nations.
Mohammed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed left prison a few hours after the decree. They were among more than 100 antigovernment activists and others pardoned on the eve a major Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha.
“I am free! This time for real!” Mr. Fahmy tweeted in the evening.
Mr. Fahmy and Mr. Mohamed were arrested in December 2013 along with a third reporter, Peter Greste. They were initially charged with aiding a terrorist organization and endangering Egypt’s national security. All three, who worked for the Qatar-based network’s English service, denied the charges.
They spent more than a year in prison until they were released on bail during a retrial this year. Egyptian authorities deported Mr. Greste, an Australian, in February, after public protests from the Australian government over his imprisonment.