Egypt frees Jazeera journalist after Qatar thaw

Egypt has freed a journalist for Qatar's Al Jazeera, a security source said Friday, after four years in jail without trial following the end last month of a rift between the two Arab states.

Mahmoud Hussein, an Egyptian national who had been imprisoned since December 23, 2016, was released on Thursday night, the Egyptian security source told AFP without elaborating.

But Gamal Eid, head of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, said that while the decision to release Hussein had been taken, "he has still not returned home and is still being held".

The 54-year-old was detained in Cairo when he returned for a family holiday, and was accused of incitement against state institutions and spreading false news.

Qatar's Al Jazeera -- which has run a daily campaign calling for his liberation -- did not immediately confirm his release. It has repeatedly said he was being held "without formal charges nor trial".

Hussein's reported release comes two weeks after Egypt and Qatar restored ties, following a three-year Saudi-led freeze on relations with Doha.