Cairo: Egypt Sunday decided to release jailed journalist Peter Greste, who will now be deported back to his native Australia, according to media reports. The Egyptian foreign ministry coordinated with the Australian embassy in Cairo for the journalist's release and Greste was supposed to depart for Sydney, a Xinhua report said, citing a source.

Greste, who was freed after reportedly spending 400 days in prison, worked for the Doha-based Al-Jazeera English news channel, along with Egyptian national Baher Mohammed and Egyptian-Canadian Mohammed Fahmy, who are still in jail.