Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste hopes to be back in Australia by the end of the week but will not rest until his colleagues are freed from an Egyptian jail, his brother says.
Peter Greste (file photo) Photo: AFP
Mr Greste was reporting on the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi in Egypt when he was jailed, along colleagues Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian national Baher Mohamed. They were charged with collusion with a banned group and spreading lies to help a terrorist organisation - a reference to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Greste was released this morning after 400 days in jail following presidential "approval", under a new law passed last year allowing imprisoned foreigners to be deported to complete their sentence in their home countries. His colleagues remain in prison in Egypt.
He was put on a plane to Cyprus early this morning and his brother, Andrew Greste, told Checkpoint his family hoped he would be home in Australia by the end of the week.
However, he would not rest until his colleagues were also freed, Andrew Greste said.
"Peter won't rest, obviously his release is tampered by a certain amount of anxiety because he's left on his own," he said.
"He's still got his two mates there and he won't give up the fight and give up the campaign until those guys are free, either."
Australian journalist Peter Greste's father Juris Greste, left, brother Andrew Greste and mother Lois Greste celebrate his release. Photo: AFP
Andrew Greste said his brother seemed well.
"Physically he's fine, and he's managed to look after himself mentally as well, but physically he's fine," he said.
"He's always looked after his health and been careful with what he eats and taken any opportunity to exercise wherever he can because he knew that that was a very important part of getting through an undetermined time in prison.
"It's going to take him a little bit of time for him to get his feet on the ground and fully comprehend what's happened and the enormity of today's events."
Peter Greste took his time in jail day by day and had no expectations about possibly being released, Andrew Greste said.
"It was a very quick decision, we didn't get a lot of notification that it was going to occur and until it had actually occurred we always were approaching it with a degree of caution because, as we learnt in the past, we've been let down by rumour and things that have been talked about what might happen but I'm sure he was approaching it in a similar matter."
