Back Story

Escape from Egypt: Mohamed Fahmy, 2013

After spending more than 400 days in an Egyptian prison, this is Mohamed Fahmy's Back Story.
Mohamed Fahmy along with producer Baher Mohamed, left, and correspondent Peter Greste, right, appear in a Cairo court during their trial on terror charges. (AP)

Mohamed Fahmy has covered wars, invasions and uprisings.

He's reported for the Los Angeles Times, CNN and in 2013 took up the post as bureau chief for Al­-Jazeera English in Cairo.

Political tensions in Egypt were high. The Arabic service of Al­-Jazeera was outlawed and freedom of press was challenged regularly. Mohamed was forced to walk a fine line. 

But as bad as things were, he never imagined he would find himself in Egypt's Scorpion Prison, incarcerated with al-Qaeda leaders and ISIS fighters, facing terrorism charges because of his work as a journalist.

From solitary confinement to fighting for freedom of the press, this is Mohamed's Back Story.

Mohamed Fahmy arrives on a flight from Cairo at London's Heathrow airport after being pardoned by Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al­Sisi (REUTERS)