An Egyptian judge has ordered the release of two Al-Jazeera English journalists.

The release of Al-Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy from a prison in Egypt is "imminent", Canadian foreign minister John Baird said.

Australian journalist Peter Greste said it was a great relief to be freed from prison in Egypt but added in an interview on Al Jazeera that he felt “incredible angst” about leaving two colleagues behind in prison.

A freed Al-Jazeera English reporter and his family have called on Egypt to release his two colleagues who remain behind bars, in a case widely condemned as a sham by human rights groups.

Al-Jazeera English reporter Peter Greste has left Egypt after the president approved his deportation following more than a year behind bars in a case that was widely condemned by rights groups.

Al-Jazeera English reporter Peter Greste has left Egypt after the president approved his deportation following more than a year behind bars in a case that was widely condemned by rights groups.

Two of three Al Jazeera journalists jailed in Egypt have applied to be deported under a new law after the country’s highest court ordered their retrial but did not free them as their families had hoped.

Egypt’s highest court has ordered a retrial of three jailed journalists working for Al Jazeera television, citing procedural flaws in last year’s trial.

Egyptian security forces have arrested journalists working for the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera network over alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood, the leading Islamist group that was last week branded a “terrorist” organisation, the interior ministry said.