--- description: Canada’s Foreign Minister said the release of Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy from an Egyptian prison was “imminent” title: Mohamed Fahmy Could Soon Be Free image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66d8e8c770703716/69877d50e53abaa52c4d75ee/canada-al-jazeera_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Egypt](/tag/egypt/) ## Egypt Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Canada Says Release of al-Jazeera Journalist in Egypt 'Imminent' by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 3, 2015 8:02 AM CUT  From left: al-Jazeera English producer Baher Mohamed, Canadian-Egyptian acting Cairo bureau chief Mohammed Fahmy and correspondent Peter Greste appear in court in Cairo on March 31, 2014 From left: al-Jazeera English producer Baher Mohamed, Canadian-Egyptian acting Cairo bureau chief Mohammed Fahmy and correspondent Peter Greste appear in court in Cairo on March 31, 2014Heba Elkholy—AP by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 3, 2015 8:02 AM CUT Canada’s Foreign Minister John Baird [announced](http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/02/canada-fm-release-al-jazeera-fahmy-imminent-150203010050714.html "undefined") Monday that the release of Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy from an Egyptian prison was “imminent.” Baird told Canada’s public broadcaster that diplomatic efforts to free Fahmy, who was al-Jazeera’s acting Cairo bureau chief, were going well but gave no specific time frame. Fahmy, 40, was arrested in 2013 along with colleagues Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste for allegedly aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood. All three were sentenced to between seven and 10 years in jail. Greste was released on Sunday and deported back to his native Australia. Mohamed remains in detention. Fahmy has relinquished his Egyptian citizenship as a prerequisite to his deportation under a presidential decree that allows foreigners on trial to be returned to their home countries. On Jan. 1, Egypt’s Court of Cessation overturned their sentences and ordered a retrial, but there is as yet no indication of when this will begin. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3693388/canada-al-jazeera-journalist-egypt/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3693388/canada-al-jazeera-journalist-egypt/"},"headline":"Canada Says Release of al-Jazeera Journalist in Egypt 'Imminent'","datePublished":"2015-02-03T08:02:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:05:41.194Z","description":"Diplomats are trying to secure the 40-year-old's deportation to Canada","url":"https://time.com/3693388/canada-al-jazeera-journalist-egypt/","keywords":["Egypt","diplomacy","Prison","Journalists","Muslim Brotherhood","deportation","release"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66d8e8c770703716/69877d50e53abaa52c4d75ee/canada-al-jazeera_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66d8e8c770703716/69877d50e53abaa52c4d75ee/canada-al-jazeera_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed, Peter Greste","caption":"Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed, Peter Greste","creditText":"Heba Elkholy—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/egypt/","name":"Egypt"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3693388/canada-al-jazeera-journalist-egypt/","name":"Canada Says Release of al-Jazeera Journalist in Egypt 'Imminent'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Freed Journalist Peter Greste Worries for His Collegues","description":"Peter Greste was freed from an Egyptian prison on Sunday. He says he is relieved to be out but that he also worries for his collegues who remian behind bars.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/xel4hvSR/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-03T02:46:15.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xel4hvSR.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3693388/canada-al-jazeera-journalist-egypt/","duration":"PT55S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3693388/canada-al-jazeera-journalist-egypt/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```