Ahmed Naji was released from Boulaq Abul-Ela police station in Downtown Cairo on Thursday.

The court of cassation, Egypt’s highest appeals court, has suspended his sentence pending a final verdict on January 1, when they will decide to order another trial or send him back to prison.

In February of 2016, he was sentenced to 2 years for “violating public modesty” because a passage in his novel The Use of Life contained references of sex and drug use.

This is the third attempt to overturn his sentence in the nine months he’s spent in prison. Naji was prosecuted under a statute in the Egyptian penal code that criminalizes art or printed works judged to be “against public morals”, but many think his imprisonment was more likely because he has been a vocal critic of the Egyptian government. A citizen had complained that reading the passage caused heart palpitations, sickness, and a drop in blood pressure, but supporters believe the charges to be politically motivated.

Leaving, Naji did not make comments to reporters, but was driven away in a car with tinted windows.