Award-winning Egyptian photojournalist Shawkan imprisoned for covering protests finally free

The photographer, widely known as Shawkan, last year received UNESCO's World Freedom Prize, dismaying the Egyptian authorities who accused him of "terrorist and criminal acts".

"He was released at 6:00 am (0400 GMT) from the Al-Haram police station (near the Giza pyramids) and is currently at home," his attorney Taher Aboul Nasr told AFP.

Shawkan was detained in August 2013 while covering clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi that turned into a bloodbath in which hundreds of demonstrators died.

The photojournalist was jailed and put on trial along with 739 defendants, most of them charged with killing police and vandalising property.

It was one of the largest mass trials since the 2011 uprising that toppled veteran president Hosni Mubarak.

In September an Egyptian court upheld death sentences against 75 defendants and gave Shawkan a five-year jail term - which covered the time he had already served - but he remained in jail awaiting his release.

Shawkan was accused of "murder and membership of a terrorist organisation" - charges that can carry the death penalty - sparking condemnation from international rights groups which demanded his release.

Amnesty International said at the time he had been convicted "simply for doing his job as a photojournalist and documenting the police brutality that took place that day".

Another 214 people who were sentenced in September to five years in prison were released from prison on Monday.