==EGYPT OUT== Canadian Al-Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy (L) celebrates with his wife Marwa after being dropped off by authorities in the upmarket Cairo suburb of Maadi following his release from prison with his colleague Baher Mohamed after being pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on September 23, 2015. Sisi pardoned the two Al-Jazeera colleagues, along with 100 prisoners, the presidency and official media reported. AFP PHOTO / STRSTR/AFP/Getty ImagesSTR/AFP / Getty Images
Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian journalist, is free at last, out of a gruesome Egyptian prison. He had spent more than 400 days in jail, for the supposed offence of "spreading false news." His pardon is to be greatly welcomed, even though he committed no crime needing to be pardoned. He had reported the news in Egypt during the Arab spring and its aftermath, for the English-language TV channel of al-Jazeera, along with two colleagues.
Or at least he is almost free. Mr. Fahmy is still on Egypt's no-fly list. Let's hope he doesn't have to walk to Libya, let alone Gaza or Israel, in order to get home to Canada and his family.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi has also pardoned more than 100 other prisoners to celebrate Eid al-Adha, a major Islamic holiday celebrating Abraham's willingness to his sacrifice his son.
In liberating Mr. Fahmy and his colleagues, Mr. al-Sissi may well have been influenced by his own imminent departure for New York, to take part in the annual United Nations General Assembly summit, where he may hope to present a comparatively liberal face.
Many of the other pardons were granted to people, especially young people, convicted of protesting without a permit.
In spite of these pardons, recent history casts a deep shadow. In 2013, the commanders of the Egyptian armed forces, including Mr. al-Sissi, overthrew the one and only democratically elected government in Egyptian history, in which Mohamed Morsi was president.
It's true that Mr. Morsi's government overreached the narrow electoral margin of its mandate. It was essentially a vehicle for the Muslim Brotherhood, and the tenuous democracy would probably not have lasted. But the military coup was quickly followed by the judiciary's large-scale repression of the armed forces' opponents, and the killing of hundreds of people. Dissidents now live in fear.
Mr. Fahmy was a pawn in the military regime's quarrel with the rulers of Qatar, who backed the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar also owns al-Jazeera.
The Egyptian government's charges of "false messages" are false, but they have had their intended effect. Journalists have been warned to steer well clear of Egypt.