(CNN) — Egypt freed an Al Jazeera journalist Sunday, allowing him to leave the country, the government said.
Australian journalist Peter Greste left Egypt at about 4 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) and is in the air, Egyptian Interior Ministry spokesman Hany Abdel Latif said.
Greste’s lawyer had no immediate comment.
Greste was one of three Al Jazeera journalists jailed in the country. The other two, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, remain behind bars.
They were convicted of supporting the banned Muslim Brotherhood, but maintain their innocence.
Egypt’s highest court recently accepted the appeal of the three journalists and granted them a retrial.
