Egypt's most prominent political prisoner is freed with a presidential pardon

BarcelonaThe Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, one of Egypt's most prominent political prisoners, was released from prison on Monday night after spending six years. Fattah, 43, was pardoned by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, reportedly following a request from the National Council for Human Rights, and has now been reunited with his family.

The activist released a video showing himself at home after his release, smiling broadly and celebrating with his sister and his mother, Laila Soueif, who went on a long hunger strike during her son's imprisonment. "Despite our great joy, the greatest joy will be when there are no [political] prisoners," Soueif said. "I still can't comprehend that this is real," said Sanaa Seif, Abdel Fattah's sister, according to the BBC.

The activist was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of "spreading false news" for sharing a post about a prisoner who died from torture. Two weeks ago, al-Sisi ordered authorities to consider requests from the National Human Rights Council for the release of Abdel Fattah and six others.

The activist's family noted that he was supposed to have been released in September 2024, but the two years he spent in pretrial detention were not counted by the Egyptian authorities. It was in protest of this extension of his imprisonment that Abdel Fattah's mother went on hunger strike.