Egypt frees son of Islamist leader

Egyptian authorities on Saturday released a son of a leading member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group after the Egyptian-American man gave up his Egyptian nationality, official MENA news agency reported.

Mohamed Salah Sultan was sentenced to 25 years in jail over violence and terror charges after he was arrested following a security crackdown on two protest camps set up by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood in August 2013.

The crackdown, carried out almost a month after former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi was toppled by the military following nationwide protests against his one-year rule, left about 1,000 of his loyalists dead and thousands more under arrest.

Prosecutor-General Hesham Barakat commented on Saturday that Sultan was deported to the United States to complete his life imprisonment term as a US citizen in line with the law and after the approval of Egypt's president and cabinet.

Sultan went on hunger strike in prison during his trial and his health has been deteriorating, according to local media quoting his family members, who said Sultan has already left Cairo using his U.S. passport.

Sultan's father Salah Sultan was handed the death sentence in April, along with 13 others including the group's spiritual leader Mohamed Badie.

Egyptian courts are currently holding mass trials of thousands of Morsi supporters.

Morsi himself, along with more than 100 others, has recently been handed the death sentence over plotting a mass jailbreak during the 2011 uprising that toppled ex-leader Hosni Mubarak. The sentence can be appealed.