Al-Jazeera
journalist Peter Greste says he is relieved to be free but feels
"incredible angst" at leaving behind two of his colleagues in jail in
Egypt.
Mr
Greste was freed from prison and deported on Sunday after 400 days behind bars.
He is now in Cyprus, en route to Australia. Continue..
Mr
Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were arrested in 2013 on charges of
spreading false news and aiding the Muslim Brotherhood.
Mr
Fahmy and Mr Mohamed remain jailed.
In an
interview with al-Jazeera, Mr Greste described his release as "a massive step forward" for the Egyptian
authorities.
"I
just hope that Egypt keeps going down that path with the others," the
Australian journalist added.
Mr Fahmy, who holds dual
Egyptian and Canadian citizenship, could be freed if he renounces his Egyptian
nationality, presidential sources say.
But
there are still concerns about Mr Mohamed, an Egyptian who holds no dual
nationality.
Speaking
on Monday, Mr Greste said he "wasn't expecting" his release on Sunday
and had been released with what felt like "just a few minutes'
notice".
He
described a "real mix of emotions" after learning he would be freed, with both a
"sense of relief and excitement but also real stress in having to say
goodbye to my colleagues and friends - people who've really become family
inside that prison".
"It
was a very difficult moment walking out of that prison. Saying goodbye to those
guys, not knowing how much longer they would have to put up with this."
He
expressed concern for Mr Fahmy and Mr Mohamed, as well as other journalists
convicted in absentia.
"If
it's right for me to be free then it's right for all of them to be free,"
he said.
Mr
Greste, Mr Fahmy and Mr Mohamed, journalists for al-Jazeera English, were
arrested in 2013 after being accused of collaborating with the banned Muslim
Brotherhood after the overthrow of former President Mohammed Morsi by the
military.
All three denied the charges
against them and said their trial was a sham.
In June
last year, Mr Fahmy and Mr Greste were sentenced to seven years in prison and
Mr Mohamed to 10. Their sentences sparked an international outcry.
The
three men's convictions were overturned on 1 January but they remained in
custody pending a retrial.
Several
students have also been held in the same case. The students deny working for
Al-Jazeera but it is thought that material filmed on their phones was used by
the network.
In a
separate case, Abdullah El-Shamy, a journalist for Al-Jazeera's Arabic channel,
was arrested in August 2013 when police broke up a protest by supporters of Mr
Morsi.
He was
released on health grounds in June 2014 after a hunger strike of nearly five
months.
According
to campaign group Reporters Without Borders, there are currently 165
journalists imprisoned around the world, including 15 in Egypt.
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