Two Canadians held in Egypt for more than six weeks without charge arrived in Toronto on Friday to cheers, hugs and celebration, ending a high-profile campaign by friends and family to return the doctor and filmmaker.
John Greyson and Tarek Loubani were arrested after going to see street demonstrations on Aug. 16, two days after security forces killed hundreds of supporters of toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in Cairo.
Arriving at Toronto's Pearson Airport, the pair thanked Canadian authorities for working to secure their release and supporters who campaigned to raise awareness about their plight.
Egypt's army-backed authorities released the pair on Oct. 5, but they faced delays leaving the country due to a travel ban on the men, which was lifted on Thursday.
Greyson and Loubani said they were in Cairo before a planned trip to the Gaza Strip where Loubani was due to teach a medical course while Greyson made a documentary about him.
They were arrested at a checkpoint, then searched and beaten, they said. They were taken to Cairo's Tora prison, where members of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood are being held. (Reporting by Andrea Hopkins and Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Eric Beech)
