Egypt's president has flown a journalist detained for nearly two weeks in Sudan after covering protests there back to Cairo with him on his private plane.
A post on President Mohammed Morsy's Facebook page says Shaimaa Adel left Sudan and was flown to Ethiopia, where she had breakfast Monday with the president, who was attending a summit. Then they flew home.
Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that Adel left the airport accompanied by her family following Morsy's departure.
A press conference was planned at the Cairo airport for Adel, her family, Journalists Syndicate head Mamdouh al-Wali, and chief editor of Al-Watan newspaper Magdi al-Galad, but it was canceled, causing an uproar among journalists who had been invited by the presidential office to attend.
The reasons behind the cancellation were not disclosed, but Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that Galad was upset by the cancellation and tried to convince Adel to go forward with the conference.
Adel was detained 3 July in Sudan's capital of Khartoum, covering protests against new austerity measures and the rule of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. She works for the independent Egyptian daily Al-Watan newspaper.
Egypt's official news agency, MENA, reported that the Egyptian president pressed Bashir to release Adel.
Bashir explained that Sudan detained her for entering Sudan without permission to work as a journalist, but agreed to free her.
