Egypt: President Sisi pardons jailed activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah

Egyptian authorities on Monday announced the presidential pardon of prominent activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah.

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 activist's lawyer Khaled Ali told the Associated Press on Monday that 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.

“My heart will explode,” Abd el-Fattah's sister Mona Seif posted on social media, relieved about the news of his pardon.

Laila Soueif, his mother, said she was heading to the prison where her son is held. “I won’t rest until he is out,” she said.

Years behind bars

Abd el-Fattah was a leading voice in the country’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising. The Egyptian-British activist has spent most of the past decades behind bars, where he has gone on multiple hunger strikes.

He was last arrested in 2019 and sentenced to five years in jail on charges of “spreading fake news.”

Over the years, Abd el-Fattah became emblematic of Egypt’s democratic backsliding. He should have been released last year but Egyptian authorities refused to count the more than two years he spent in pre-trial detention and ordered him to be held until January 2027.

His detention prompted his mother to engage in a 10-month hunger strike, which left her seriously ill.

Earlier this month, president Sisi ordered authorities to review an appeal by the National Council for Human Rights calling for the release of Abd el-Fattah.

The pardon is "a step that underscores a growing commitment to reinforcing the principles of swift justice and upholding fundamental rights and freedoms," the human rights group said in a statement on Monday.

It was not immediately known if Abd el-Fattah will leave Egypt, but his lawyer Khaled 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,” Ali said earlier this month.