Long-held Al Jazeera journalists freed, pending retrial

Egyptian authorities have released Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed -- though they still face court proceedings -- after they served more than 400 days in an Egyptian prison.

At the start of their retrial Thursday, a court ordered Fahmy be released on a 250,000 Egyptian pound bail ($32,750); Baher Mohamed was not required to post bail. Court has been adjourned until February 23.

Their release comes less than two weeks after their colleague, Al Jazeera correspondent Peter Greste, was released and deported to his native Australia.

The three journalists were arrested in Egypt in December 2013, accused of supporting the banned Muslim Brotherhood. All three were convicted and imprisoned but have maintained their innocence.

After Greste was released, news emerged that Fahmy, Al Jazeera's Cairo bureau chief and a former CNN journalist, and Mohamed, a producer, were to be re-tried in the case.

The prospect of a retrial "represents our worst nightmare," Fahmy said Sunday in a statement released by his family.