Egyptian authorities have released a prominent activist and blogger who had criticised the government after more than seven months of detention.

Lawyer Gamal Eid says his client, Wael Abbas, was freed late on Tuesday, more than a week after a court ordered his conditional release. Eid says Abbas must report to a nearby police station every two days.

Abbas, 44, faces charges of disseminating false news and joining an outlawed group. Police arrested him in May after raiding his house in a Cairo suburb.

Abbas has campaigned against torture in Egypt for well over a decade, before and after the 2011 uprising.

Egypt has arrested a number of activists since President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi won re-election in March, part of a wider crackdown on dissent.

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