Egyptian investigative journalist Hossam Bahgat has been freed from military custody following his arrest for “publishing false news”.
The 37-year-old’s release was confirmed by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), the human rights group he founded, and the news website Mada Masr, to which he is a contributor.
Hossam Bahgat has just been released. He just called us and he is on his way home. Thank you all for your support.
— EIPR (@EIPR) November 10, 2015
المبادرة المصرية @EIPR: #حسام_بهجت، صحفي مدى مصر، في طريقه إلى المنزل بعد إطلاق سراحه منذ دقائق
— Mada Masr مدى مصر (@MadaMasr) November 10, 2015
News of his arrest on Sunday came just days after protests during the London visit of the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. He has overseen the widespread curtailing of the Egyptian press since the former president, Mohamed Morsi, was overthrown in 2013. Objections to Sisi’s red-carpet reception focused on mass killings, the imprisonment of Muslim Brotherhood supporters and human rights abuses.
Negad al-Borai, a lawyer requested by Bahgat, said on Monday that the arrest was related to an article from October about the trial of military officers accused of a coup attempt.
The detention order was for four days but could have been renewed indefinitely and more charges issued. Mahmoud Abou Zeid, another journalist, has been in pre-trial detention for more than two years.
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