Egyptian 'spy' released from Algerian jail

Egyptian national Ahmed Al-Masri, who has been detained in Algeria since 2008 accused of spy activities has been released following a meeting between Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Al-Masri received a ten-year jail sentence in an Algerian court in October 2008, after the Algerian police found photos on an industrial complex in west Algeria. Kandil said on his Facebook page: "The release of the Egyptian national was one of the results of my meeting with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika last week," Ahmed Al-Masri arrived in Cairo on Friday. In court, Al-Masri explained that he took photos of himself to send to an Algerian friend, and that he just happened to be in that area at the time when he took the pictures. He was eventually sentenced to 10 years in jail on charge of spying on Algerian state facilities, although the investigations didn't allude to which country he was working for or for which purpose this photos could be used.