Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has granted a presidential pardon to prominent Egyptian-British activist and blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah, ending years of incarceration marked by hunger strikes and international calls for his release.
Abd El Fattah, who holds dual citizenship, had been imprisoned since 2019 on charges including spreading false information and endangering national security, charges widely criticized as politically motivated.
The pardon follows a petition from Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights and a recent court decision removing him from the country’s terrorism list due to insufficient evidence linking him to banned groups.
His lawyer confirmed the pardon and expects Abd El Fattah's release shortly after the official publication of the pardon decree in Egypt’s government gazette.
Abd El Fattah rose to prominence as a leading voice during Egypt’s 2011 Arab Spring protests against the longtime rule of Hosni Mubarak. He has spent most of the past decade behind bars under President Sisi’s administration.
International human rights organizations and governments, including the United Kingdom, had repeatedly called for his release, highlighting his detention as part of a broader crackdown on dissent.
The decision is seen as a significant human rights development in Egypt, though activists emphasize that many other political prisoners remain incarcerated.