The fate of the remaining Al Jazeera journalists in Egyptian prisons remains unclear.

Egyptian authorities freed Al Jazeera Mubasher journalist Hisham Abdelaziz on Monday despite initially reversing their decision to do so, his family confirmed on Sunday.

Samira El Taher, the wife of the journalist, tweeted an image to confirm his release, saying “Hisham is on the ground, praise be to God.” His employer, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network, also confirmed the news.

Last week, El Taher said she was told by her husband’s lawyer that Egyptian authorities had u-turned on their decision to release him alongside four other detainees.

Abdelaziz was arrested in Cairo International Airport on 20 June 2019 and was accused of “joining a terrorist group”, an allegation often used by the regime in Cairo to crack down on journalists and political dissidents.

He was then subjected to an enforced disappearance for almost a month, during which his family and friends were given no information regarding his whereabouts or condition.

In 2021, Abdelaziz’s health condition worsened after suffering from glaucoma in his eyes and required urgent surgery to prevent the complete loss of his eyesight. He also contracted otosclerosis, a condition that risks serious harm to hearing.

Last month, authorities in Cairo renewed the prison sentence of Abelaziz and his colleagues, Rabie El-Sheikh and Bahauddin Ibrahim, for an extended 45 days. The periodic renewal of 15-to-45 days is a widely known tactic often used by the Egyptian regime.

El-Sheikh has been behind bars for some 20 months following his initial arrest in 2021 when he travelled to Cairo for a family visit. Ibrahim was arrested in Alexandria in 2020.

In May last year, an Egyptian court sentenced Doha-based Al Jazeera presenter Ahmed Taha to 15 years in prison in absentia.

Egypt’s extension of the journalists’ imprisonment comes despite rapprochement between Doha and Cairo following the 2017 dispute. 

At the time, Egypt joined Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain in severing ties with Qatar and imposed an illegal air, land and sea blockade on the Gulf state.

Al Jazeera has been subjected to violations of media freedom since the 2013 military coup that saw current Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi seize power from then-leader Mohamed Morsi—Egypt’s first democratically elected leader.

The Qatar-based network has repeatedly called on Egyptian authorities to release its journalists as rights groups and Washington echo concerns over the prolonged detainment without trial.

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Egypt is one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, with many spending years in jail and solitary confinement without being formally charged or tried.