Kamal Hassan Ali, the Sudanese ambassador in Cairo, said that Egyptian reporter Shaimaa Adel would be released in days, said former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh on Wednesday.

Abouel Fotouh met the ambassador today at his office in Garden City.

Sudanese authorities arrested Adel, a reporter for independent daily Al-Watan, in a cyber cafe in Khartoum last week. She had travelled to Sudan to cover protests against government austerity measures and soaring prices.

Several human rights organizations have urged for Adel's release. The Journalists Syndicate in Egypt released a statement late Tuesday calling on Sudan to free Adel in order to preserve good relations between the countries. Activists have staged demonstrations outside the Sudanese Embassy and the Journalists Syndicate demanding her release.

Abouel Fotouh asked the Sudanese ambassador to immediately release Adel and urged Sudan to respect the people's will and their freedom of expression.

Adel's mother had said earlier that Mohamed Fouad Gadallah, legal adviser to President Mohamed Morsy, promised her that the presidency would fight for her daughter's release.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm