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On becoming an advocate for press freedom
'It is very weird. This is something that has surprised me since I got out of prison; the level of attention and focus that we've had over the last six or seven weeks.
'It feels odd to have the stage and the microphone thrust in your face in the way that I'm used to doing, not receiving.
'[Press freedom] is something I am identified with and something I feel is worth talking about, and if I've got a platform, I might as well use it.
'Overall, the level of international attention the case has been getting has been both gratifying for us and incredibly heartening, and I think in all sorts of ways it has made the Egyptians understand that this is an important case.'
On the federal government's role in freeing him from prison
'I remember at one point I was feeling quite frustrated. I felt there wasn't enough publicly being done.
'On reflection, I also realise that it was always going to be a difficult political dance to make, particularly with the Egyptians.
'These things are always a complex balance of public and private pressure, and I know now that there was extraordinary work that was being done behind the scenes by Julie Bishop and DFAT. They worked the back channels very hard.
'We know that the Australian government pulled in a lot of favours.
'Although there were some mistakes that were made—there were some points where we would have liked a little bit more pressure and some points, a little bit less—overall, I wouldn't be here if the collective effort wasn't effective.'
On calling Foreign Minister Julie Bishop: 'The Terminator'
'She has those infamous, laser-like eyes and she uses them particularly effectively.
'I know there are more than one or two diplomats who came within her stare who found themselves walking out with holes burned in the back of their skulls from those eyes.
'It seemed like an appropriate analogy.'
On the pressures impacting press freedom around the world
'I think this is, in no small measure, due to the atrociously-named War on Terror.
'In the past, what has happened is that conflicts have been over tangible things like territory or ethnicity.
'In the War on Terror, what we have seen is a conflict evolve over a worldview, but this worldview is so intangible that it means everything and nothing. It means whatever anybody wants it to mean.
'The moment you try to interrogate some of the issues behind the War on Terror is the moment you become a target of one side or the other. There is no middle-ground on this.
'It is the message itself that has become the battleground. I think that goes a long way to explaining why journalists are in such danger at the moment.'
On the freedom of the Australian press
'If we are denied the opportunity to see what is going on in those dark corners then it is very easy for governments to get away with things that we may not agree with as a public.
'We've got to open up places like detention centres so that the press can see what's going on, so the public understands what's happening there and we can have a healthy debate about it.'
On whether he will continue working as a journalist
'When I was arrested, I was enjoying my career. I still believed in it, I still believe in it now and I'm not ready to walk away from it.
'I don't think I'll necessarily go back to my day job as East Africa correspondent; I don't think that will work particularly well.
'I do think there is an opportunity for me to start doing documentaries and other forms of news stories, and advocate for press freedom, to make sure these issues are very much alive in people's minds.
'I think this is important, I think we need to keep reminding the government of it. I'm not ready to give this up.'
RN Drive takes you behind the day’s headlines, with an engaging mix of current affairs, analysis, arts and culture from across Australia and around the world.
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