Imprisoned Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah on list for presidential pardon and release

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CAIRO (AP) — Prominent Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah may be released through a presidential pardon, the president’s office said.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Tuesday ordered relevant authorities to look into an appeal recently petitioned by the National Council for Human Rights-Egypt calling for the release of Abd el-Fattah along with six other convicted individuals, his office said in a statement.

The British-Egyptian dual national has been imprisoned in Egypt since September 2019. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2021 for spreading false news.

“This is really promising, we hope these authorities follow through with urgency and that Alaa will be reunited with us soon,” his sister, Sanaa Souief, said Tuesday in a post on X.

The National Council for Human Rights submitted a humanitarian appeal to the president Monday urging him to consider releasing Abd el-Fattah and others on humanitarian and health grounds after receiving requests from their families.

“This is in view of the critical family circumstances faced by their relatives,” the group’s appeal said. “Such a decision would represent a deeply significant moral incentive for the families of those mentioned and would substantially contribute to restoring their stability as well as their psychological and social balance.”

Abd el-Fattah, one of Egypt’s most prominent activists, first gained recognition during the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s rule. He has spent much of the past decade in prison and is viewed as emblematic of the country’s democratic backslide.

Abd el-Fattah should have been released last year but Egyptian authorities refused to count more than two years he spent in pre-trial detention and ordered him to be held until January 2027.

Tarek el-Awady, a human rights lawyer and member of the presidential pardon committee, told The Associated Press that Abd el-Fattah will be released within days and can instantly walk out of prison without additional release procedures.

“This is the first time the president orders authorities to look into this appeal after multiple local and international calls for his release,” el-Awady said, adding that the order came about a month after a court order removed Abd el-Fattah’s name from a terrorism list.

Abd el-Fattah’s detention prompted his mother, Laila Soueif, to begin a hunger strike on Sept. 29, which has left her seriously ill and frequently receiving treatment at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London. She ended her hunger strike in July after multiple appeals from her family and members of the local and international communities over her deteriorating health.

The activist’s release would send a message that the government is responding to legitimate public demands, which emphasizes the country’s stability and strength, el-Awady said.

“This is the perfect opportunity to rebuild trust between citizens and the state,” el-Awady said. “Similar cases should be among the state’s priorities as this has an impact on Egypt internally and internationally.”