Egypt releases Al Jazeera journalists

An Egyptian judge has ordered the release of Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed on Thursday. Fahmy must pay a $33,000 bail pending the pair's retrail, and Mohamed was released without bail.

The journalists were originally arrested in December 2013 and sentenced to seven years in jail for spreading false news to support the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group. Fahmy and Mohamed were imprisoned in June, along with fellow Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste, who was deported on Feb. 1. The journalists have denied that they were working with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Fahmy has given up his dual Egyptian citizenship so that he could qualify for deportation to Canada. Mohamed, however, doesn't have a foreign passport.

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"Bail is a small step in the right direction and allows Baher and Mohamed to spend time with their families after 411 days apart," an Al Jazeera spokesperson said in a statement. "The focus, though, is still on the court reaching the correct verdict at the next hearing by dismissing this absurd case and releasing both these fine journalists unconditionally."

The journalists' next hearing will be held on Feb. 23.