Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has pardoned Alaa Abdel Fattah, a prominent British-Egyptian activist who has been incarcerated for six years. This information was confirmed by Egyptian state media and Abdel Fattah’s lawyer. Along with Abdel Fattah, five other individuals had their sentences commuted following a recommendation from the National Council for Human Rights, as reported by Al-Qahera News. Abdel Fattah’s lawyer publicly acknowledged the development on social media.
At 43 years old, Alaa Abdel Fattah is recognized as one of Egypt’s most notable political prisoners. He was initially arrested in 2019, shortly after completing a previous five-year sentence. In 2021, he was convicted for “spreading false news” related to a Facebook post regarding allegations of torture in Egypt.
Abdel Fattah was due to be released in September 2024; however, authorities did not count the more than two years he spent in pre-trial detention as part of his sentence. During his imprisonment, he and his mother, Laila Soueif, conducted hunger strikes to draw attention to his situation and advocate for his release.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq8e3kqkyq2o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss