CAIRO – A woman journalist convicted of public indecency for wearing trousers outdoors and facing a month in jail says she was freed from prison after her fine was paid without her knowledge.
Lubna Hussein had refused to pay a $200 fine and opted for imprisonment as a protest against the country's draconian morality laws. Hussein tells The Associated Press that prison authorities set her free without an explanation Tuesday.
She says she later learned that the government-allied Journalists Union paid the fine on her behalf. She says the government was "unnerved" by her presence in prison because she would report on conditions inside.
A judge on Monday imposed the fine after convicting her, but he did not impose the maximum penalty of 40 lashes.
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