The Egyptian authorities released the former chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Sami Annan, after nearly two years of his arrest, after he revealed his intention to run in the 2018 presidential elections, as confirmed by two sources.
"The team, Sami Annan, has been released, and he is now at his home," said parliamentarian Mustafa Bakri - who is close to the authorities and the family of Lieutenant-General Annan in his documented account on Twitter.
He added, "He called the son of the former chief of staff, Samir, who assured him that Annan was already in his house now."
In turn, Mustafa Al-Shall, director of the Annan office, tweeted on Twitter, saying: "Oh God, thank you as it should for your majesty and great authority ... Thank God for your safety, light up your house, my regret," and attach two pictures of Annan.
There was no immediate denial or confirmation from the Egyptian authorities about the matter.
In January 2018, the Egyptian army rejected an application by Annan to stand for the presidential elections, which Abdel Fattah al-Sisi won, as he was "still under summoning," according to an official statement.
Annan was called in to investigate by a military authority, before his lawyer announced that he was imprisoned in a military prison east of Cairo, and the military investigation authorities issued a decision at that time banning publication in the matter.
Sami Annan was appointed Chief of Staff of the Army in 2005, and in August 2012 the late President Mohamed Morsi removed him from his post, along with the then Minister of Defense, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.