Cliff Notes
- Alaa Abd El Fattah, a British-Egyptian activist, was pardoned and released from Wadi Natron prison after years of imprisonment due to protests and human rights advocacy.
- His release follows significant local and international campaigns, including the removal of his name from Egypt’s terrorism list and the involvement of his family in public demonstrations.
- Abd El Fattah’s mother, a prominent activist herself, undertook multiple hunger strikes to advocate for his freedom, illustrating the family’s enduring commitment to his cause.
British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El Fattah released from prison after being pardoned | World News
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A British-Egyptian activist who has spent years in prison has been released after being pardoned by Egypt’s president, according to his lawyer.
Alaa Abd El Fattah was released from Wadi Natron prison, north of Cairo, early Tuesday.
His campaign said he was now at his home in Cairo.
Mr Abd El Fattah’s sister, Mona Seif, shared pictures of the activist hugging his mother and other family members.
Mr Abd El Fattah became a prominent campaigner during protests in Cairo in 2011 that led to the ousting of former president Hosni Mubarak.
In 2014, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison – later reduced to five – for protesting without permission.
He was released in 2019 but arrested again for sharing a Facebook post about human rights abuses in Egyptian prisons.
It led to another five-year term in 2021 for “spreading fake news”.
High-profile local and international campaigns have called for his release and Egypt removed him from its “terrorism” list last year.
Mr Abd El Fattah has British citizenship through his UK-born mother, Laila Soueif, who went on hunger strike over his case and met Sir Keir Starmer to push for her son’s freedom.
The 43-year-old also undertook multiple hunger strikes of his own to highlight his case.
On Monday, his lawyer, Khaled Ali, writing in Arabic on Facebook, posted: “God is the judge. The president of the republic has issued a decree pardoning Alaa Abd El Fattah. Congratulations.”
The Egyptian president’s office said another five prisoners were also pardoned – but it’s unclear exactly when they will be freed.
Mr Abd El Fattah became known for his blogging and social media activity during the Arab Spring protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square 14 years ago.
But a wide-ranging crackdown on Islamists, liberals and leftists by the new president, former army chief Abdel Fattah al Sisi, led to the activist being imprisoned for the first time.
During his second spell in jail, his family said he was locked up without sunlight, exercise, and books – and abused by the guards.
Mr Abd El Fattah’s mother – a former maths professor – and lawyer father, who died in 2014, were also both activists.
Khaled Ali tried to get Mr Abd El Fattah freed in 2024, arguing his client’s two years of pre-trial detention should be counted, but prosecutors resisted and said he wouldn’t be allowed out until January 2027.
The refusal prompted his mother to begin another long hunger strike in September last year.
She only ended it two months ago following pleas from her family after she lost 35kg and became seriously ill.
Human rights groups say tens of thousands of prisoners of conscience have been incarcerated under the current president.
They allege they are denied due process and suffer abuse and torture – claims denied by Egyptian officials.
Chair of the foreign affairs select committee, the MP Emily Thornberry, said on X that she was “absolutely delighted” about Mr Abd El Fattah’s pardon.
She posted: “Laila, Mona, Sanaa and Alaa’s entire family’s tireless campaign for his release has been incredibly moving – their love for him was clear when I met Sanaa last year.
“I am so glad they will get to see him come home.”