Egypt's president has pardoned two of the three Al Jazeera TV journalists convicted of broadcasting false news and who were sentenced to three years in prison last month after a retrial.

A presidential spokesman said Mohammed Fahmy, a Canadian, and Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian, were on a list of 100 prisoners to be released later.

State media said a third person from the case was also pardoned. It is not clear if this is the Australian Peter Greste, who was deported in February.

Prosecutors accused them of collaborating with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood after the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi by the military in 2013.

The journalists denied the allegation and said they were simply reporting the news. Legal experts said the charges were unfounded and politically motivated.

Fahmy and Mohamed were named on a presidential decree pardoning "100 young people trapped in issues related to the breach of the law on demonstrations and some humanitarian and health cases".

Also included were the civil rights campaigners Yara Sallam and Sanaa Seif, who were sentenced to two years in prison in 2014 for taking part in an "illegal protest" demanding the release of detainees and repeal of the law on demonstrations.