British-Egyptian activist pardoned by Egyptian President
Alaa Abd El-Fattah has been held in jail since 2019
Egyptian authorities have announced British activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah has received a Presidential pardon.
The 43 year old was arrested in 2019 during a security crackdown that followed rare anti-government protests in Egypt, and after more than two years in pre-trial detention an emergency security court sentenced him to five years for spreading false news.
When his release date came up in September 2024, authorities refused to count the more than two years he spent in pre-trial detention and ordered him held until January 3, 2027.
In response his mother 69 year old, Laila Soueif, went on hunger strike in the UK at the end of last year in a bid to win her son's liberty. She remained on that strike until July 2025, almost ten months without food.
Ms Soueif said she was heading to the prison where her son is held. "I won't rest until he is out," she said.
A statement from the president's office said that another five prisoners were also pardoned. It was not immediately clear when they will walk free.
The British-Egyptian dual national's lawyer Khaled Ali told the Associated Press on Monday that Mr Abd El-Fattah is expected to be released from Wadi Natron Prison, just north of Cairo, immediately after the state's decision is published in the country's official gazette, which he expects is likely within the next two days.
The pardon by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi came after an independent rights group submitted a petition to the president's office earlier this month.
The National Council for Human Rights, acting on behalf of the families of the prisoners, urged Mr el-Sisi to consider Mr Abd El-Fattah's situation and that of the six others on "health and humanitarian grounds".
Earlier this month Mr el-Sisi's office said he had ordered relevant authorities to look into it.
The circumstances surrounding the latest appeal for his release were different from previous ones, Mr Ali told The Associated Press earlier this month, in part because of his mother's hunger strike, which added a "humane" element to the petition.
Mr Ali said earlier this month that a court order had removed his client's name from the government's "terrorism list", which would allow him to travel out of the country once he is freed.
It was not immediately known if he would leave Egypt, but Mr Ali said that his client has a desire to keep his Egyptian citizenship and live in Egypt.
"I hope this pardon creates an opportunity to find a serious solution for prolonged pre-trial detentions and sentences against politicians and activists just because they had an opinion," Mr Ali said at the time.
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