Detained journalist Mohamed Fahmy 'gives up Egyptian citizenship'

Detained Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy has given up his Egyptian citizenship in an effort to secure his release from a Cairo jail, according to reports.

Canadian-Egyptian acting Cairo bureau chief Mohammed Fahmy, center, and correspondent Peter Greste, right. (2014, AAP) Source: EL Shorouk

Detained Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy will give up his Egyptian citizenship to secure his release, Canadian media reports.

Fahmy was arrested in December 2013 with Australian journalist Peter Greste and sentenced to seven years in jail.

His fiancée, Marwa Omara, told The Canadian Press he had been pressured into revoking his citizenship by Egyptian authorities as a condition of release.

She said he was a "proud Egyptian who comes from a family of military servicemen" and the decision had been difficult.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird earlier said he believed Fahmy's release was "imminent."