More than a week after his mysterious disappearance in Egypt, Google executive and political activist Wael Ghonim has been released from government detention on Monday, a Google spokesman told FoxNews.com.
“It is a huge relief that Wael Ghonim has been released," a Google spokesman told FoxNews.com. "We send our best wishes to him and his family.”
Confusion nevertheless swirled around Ghonim's release for several hours Monday morning. Despite Google's statement and other reports that Ghonim had been freed, a State Department spokesman told Fox News Monday afternoon that it could not confirm the fact. Based on information relayed from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, U.S. officials “believe” the executive has been released from detention. But that there are “conflicting reports” and they are therefore not able to confirm as much conclusively.
In the first activity on Ghonim's Twitter feed since January 27, a message purportedly from Ghonim appeared stating "Freedom is a bless that deserves fighting for it. #Jan25." And Egyptian television station ONTV has reportedly aired footage of Ghonim's return, and posted blurry photos it claims depict Ghonim returning to his home.
During his disappearance, Ghonim, a father of two who is in his 30s, emerged as a central symbol of the anti-government protests, cast as the face of a movement and hero in the cause of democracy. Protest organizers in Cairo's central Tahrir Square adopted him as a symbolic leader.
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