Egypt’s prosecutor general on Monday ordered the release of Al-Jazeera journalist Abdullah Elshamy, who has been on hunger strike for nearly five months, the official MENA news agency reported.

Egypt's prosecutor general on Monday ordered the release of Al-Jazeera journalist Abdullah Elshamy, who has been on hunger strike for nearly five months, the official MENA news agency reported.

Elshamy, who works for the main Arabic-language channel of the Qatar-based network, was arrested on August 14 last year when police dispersed protest camps in Cairo set up by supporters of ousted president Mohammad Mursi.

MENA did not specify when he would actually be freed.