Jailed Al-Jazeera reporter renounces Egyptian citizenship

Mohamed Fahmy gives up Egyptian citizenship to pave way for his release from jail and deportation on his Canadian passport.

MENA

1 min read

AFP

03 February, 2015

Mohamed Fahmy has given up his Egyptian citizenship [Getty]

Jailed al-Jazeera reporter Mohamed Fahmy, an Egyptian-Canadian national, has renounced his Egyptian citizenship, paving the way for his release and deportation under a presidential decree.

The move on Tuesday comes after Canadian foreign minister John Baird said late on Monday that Fahmy's release was "imminent", following the freeing on Sunday of his Australian colleague Peter Greste.

The two men were arrested in December 2013 along with Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed, and later sentenced to seven to 10 years in prison on charges of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.

A relative told the AFP news agency that Fahmy had signed the papers more than a week ago to renounce his citizenship.

An Egyptian official following the case told AFP: "The final legal procedures for his deportation are being completed."

He said Fahmy's renunciation of citizenship had already been finalised.