Three detained journalists were released early on Monday on parole.

On Sunday, the head of the journalists’ syndicate Diaa Rashwan declared on Facebook that there was “good news regarding the detained colleagues.” The release of the detained journalists is allegedly so they can support Rashwan, the current head of the journalists’ syndicate and the state-sponsored candidate in the ongoing syndicate elections. However, Rashwan denied this link, explaining that his effort to release the detained journalists “is not for the elections but [has been a] continuous effort.”

The first one is Mustafa Sakr, the founder of Business News which issues Al Borsa newspaper, which is an economic daily, and Daily News Egypt, an English news website. He was arrested in April 2020 for the liberal attitude of Al Borsa, and Al Borsa website was blocked. Earlier in 2016, the committee for managing the properties of the Muslim Brothers froze Sakr’s balances and properties, including the assets of Business News.

Accordingly, Business News issued a statement rejecting the charge of being affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood or any other political party, neither the company nor the owner and its staff.

The second is Islam al-Kalhy, who works for Daaarb, an organ of the Popular Alliance Party. He was arrested in September 2020 whilst covering the protests in the Moneeb area against the murder of Islam al-Australi by torture in a police station. The third is Hasan al-Qabbani, who was arrested for the second time in 2019 months after getting parole.