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Australian journalist Peter Greste waves as he arrives for a media conference in Brisbane February 5, 2015. Greste, the Al Jazeera journalist freed after more than a year in an Egyptian prison, arrived back in his Australian homeland on Thursday and called for the release of two colleagues still in custody. Greste was released on Sunday after 400 days in a Cairo jail and had been in Cyprus since. He had been sentenced to seven years on charges that included aiding a terrorist group in a case that had attracted widespread attention and criticism of Egypt's leadership and judiciary. REUTERS/Nathan Richter

Australian Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste called his two colleagues “brothers.” He said that he would continue to campaign for the release of Canadian Mohammed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohammed.

Greste arrived at around 12:30 a.m. in Brisbane. He had a private meeting with his family before attending the press conference. He called his time in jail as “a baptism of fire.” The Telegraph reports that Greste considers his prison experience tough both mentally and physically.

Greste attended a press conference on Thursday after reaching Australia. He had spent 400 days in an Egyptian prison before he was released by a presidential decree. The other two Al Jazeera journalists, who were arrested with Greste, are still in prison. Greste earlier said that they deserved to be free on the same grounds of his own release.

Greste said on Thursday that he wanted to get back to journalism after spending time with family. "I was really given an opportunity to look back at my life again too, look back at the screw-ups I have made, to appreciate all the amazing things I've done and experienced in ways that I never really understood in the past," Toronto Sun quotes Greste.

The journalists, accused of working with banned organisation the Muslim Brotherhood, have been consistent in their claim that they were just doing their job. They were arrested in 2013 during their coverage of the ousting of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. Egypt accused Al Jazeera of representing the Muslim Brotherhood. The Qatar-based news agency, however, has denied the accusation so far.

Canada has been negotiating on the release of Fahmy. Outgoing Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird earlier said that Fahmy’s release was “imminent.” Egyptian officials have also indicated that the Canadian journalist might get released soon. Both Greste and Fahmy were sentenced seven years in jail.

Baher, an Egyptian national, was sentenced ten years. He has been asked to spend three additional years in prison for allegedly possessing a single bullet. While the release of foreign nationals is possible because of the new presidential decree, Baher’s release may be a bit more complicated since he is an Egyptian.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@IBTimes.com.au