Egypt's Sisi pardons activist Alaa Abdel Fattah

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has granted a presidential pardon to the well-known activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, releasing him after nearly a decade in prison. The decision, announced Monday through state-aligned broadcaster Al-Qahera News, also covered five other detainees.

“The Egyptian president issues a pardon for the remainder of the prison sentence for a number of convicted persons, after taking the constitutional and legal procedures in this regard,” Al-Qahera News reported, adding that “the pardon includes… Alaa Ahmed Seif El-Islam Abdel Fattah.”

Abdel Fattah, 43, holds dual British-Egyptian citizenship and was a central figure during Egypt’s 2011 uprising. Despite his prominence, he was repeatedly jailed under successive governments. His most recent conviction came in December 2021, when he was sentenced to five years on charges of “spreading false news” after posting on Facebook about alleged abuse in Egyptian prisons.

The pardon comes shortly after Sisi directed officials to review a petition submitted by the state-affiliated National Council for Human Rights, which had called for Abdel Fattah’s release. Just days earlier, a Cairo court also ordered his removal from Egypt’s terrorism list, citing a lack of evidence tying him to the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

International concern over his case had steadily mounted. The British government repeatedly pressed for his release, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer raising the issue directly with Sisi. The United Nations had also described Abdel Fattah’s detention as arbitrary and urged Egyptian authorities to set him free.

For Abdel Fattah’s family, the decision marks the end of a prolonged and painful ordeal. His mother, academic and activist Laila Soueif, had staged a 10-month hunger strike in protest. Abdel Fattah himself had been refusing food since early September, escalating a partial strike he began in March in solidarity with her.