Khaled El-Sayed (Photo: Courtesy of Freedom for The Brave Facebook Page)
Leftist activist Khaled El-Sayed was released on Friday from Cairo Airport after being detained there for nearly 24 hours by the authorities.
"I left the airport right now. Thanks to all people for their support and concern," El-Sayed wrote on his Facebook account on Friday afternoon.
The activist, who claims he was tortured by police last year, was arrested Thursday morning at the airport where he was planning to travel to Doha, Qatar to visit his wife, who works there.
Security officials told Aswat Masriya on Thursday that El-Sayed was on a no-fly list over violence-related accusations.
"His luggage was unloaded from the plane and he was handed in to authorities to take the necessary legal measures," a security source said.
However, the “Freedom for the Brave" Facebook page, which tracks detentions and arrests of activists, reported that El-Sayed was sent from the airport to Cairo's Azbakiya police station but the authorities there refused to extradite him, and sent him back to the airport in order to be released.
El-Sayed, a member of the Youth for Justice and Freedom Movement, has been arrested several times since the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
In January 2014, he was arrested during protests commemorating the third anniversary of the revolution against Mubarak and spent over a month in jail, during which he claimed he was subject to torture.
Short link: