Egypt court orders release of Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed

A court in Egypt has ordered the release on bail of two Al Jazeera English journalists, AP reported.

Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were arrested in December 2013 and charged with spreading false news and aiding the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian organisation.

A colleague, Australian Peter Greste, was released at the beginning of February after spending 400 days in jail.

Greste and Fahmy were sentenced in June 2014 to seven years in prison, while Mohamed was sentenced to 10 years.

Fahmy, who recently renounced his Egyptian citizenship and will be likely deported to Canada, was ordered to pay $33,000 (£21,485) in bail.

Mohamed and the remaining 11 defendants — mostly students charged with involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood — are being freed without bail.

The Egyptian government has been criticised for its crackdown on political opponents, particularly supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose leader Mohammed Morsi was ousted in a coup d'état carried out by the military last year.

The newly installed military government, led by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has attracted international condemnation for its persecution of activists and journalists.