Islam Afifi, editor-in-chief of the privately owned Al-Dostour newspaper, was held for allegedly publishing false information about the President, and was released after Mohamed Mursi himself passed a law scrapping preventive custody in publishing-related offenses.
Afifi, however, will face the court on September 16 to answer the charges.
Speaking to the state-run news agency MENA today, Afifi said he and other journalists welcomed the law passed by Mursi, but pointed out that the press is in need of "more safeguards" to be able to operate in a climate of true freedom.
Meanwhile, protesters gathered at the Tahrir Square in a demonstration against the President but the turnout proved to be smaller than expected by the organisers, and the square also witnessed a brief clash between them and the supporters of Mursi.
If the small turnout in a protest against Egypt's first Islamist president is anything to go by, Mursi appears to enjoy more support than angst among the people.
Protesters were demanding repeal of an interim constitution issues by the military.
Four people were injured in the clash, including three with birdshot wounds, the official MENA news agency quoted a field medic as saying.
Afifi, whose detention was one of the sparks for today's protest, meanwhile said his paper will continue to be an opposition publication and its critical positions will not change, including the publication's criticism of the formation of the Constituent Assembly charged with drafting a new constitution.
"Why isn't the Journalists Syndicate responsible for monitoring journalists instead of the courts?" Afifi asked, suggesting that the syndicate form a committee to investigate charges against journalists and determine the appropriate penalties for violating the ethics and regulations of media. PTI
WAJ
