Photojournalist regains freedom after 5 years in jail

An award-winning Egyptian photojournalist, Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known as Shawkan, was released today after spending over five years in prison.

A post on his Twitter account says he is 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 organisation.

He was sentenced to five years in prison in August, but his release was expected since he had already served over 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).