Alaa Abdel Fattah: Egypt’s president pardons prominent activist

Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has pardoned the prominent British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who has been imprisoned for six years, state media and his family say.

Abdel Fattah was one of six people whose sentences were commuted following a request from the National Council for Human Rights, according to Al-Qahera News. His sister Mona Seif wrote on X: “My heart will explode.”

The 43-year-old blogger and pro-democracy activist is one of Egypt’s best known political prisoners.

He was arrested in 2019, months after finishing a previous five-year sentence, and convicted two years later of “spreading false news” for sharing a Facebook post about a prisoner dying after torture.

His family said he should have been released in September 2024. However, Egyptian authorities refused to count the two years he spent in pre-trial detention as time served.

Although he acquired British citizenship in 2021, Egypt has never allowed him a consular visit by British diplomats.

Abdel Fattah’s lawyer, Khaled Ali, confirmed in a Facebook post on Monday afternoon that he had been pardoned.

He would be released from Wadi al-Natrun prison, north-west of Cairo, once the pardon was published in the official gazette, he added.

Abdel Fattah’s other sister Sanaa Seif also wrote on X: “President Sisi has pardoned my brother!”

“Mum & I are heading to the prison now to inquire from where Alaa will be released and when… OMG I can’t believe we get our lives back!”

The National Council for Human Rights welcomed the pardons, saying the decision was “a step that underscores a growing commitment to reinforcing the principles of swift justice and upholding fundamental rights and freedoms”.

Two weeks ago, Sisi had ordered authorities to study the NCHR’s petitions for the release of Abdel Fattah and six others, which the institution said it had submitted “in light of the humanitarian and health conditions experienced by [their] families”.

In July, Abdel Fattah’s 68-year-old mother, Leila Soueif, who is also a British citizen, ended a nine-month-long hunger strike after receiving assurances from the UK government that it was doing everything it could to secure his release.

She lost more than 40% of her original body weight and was twice admitted to hospital in London during the strike, which saw her consume only tea, coffee and rehydration salts.

Abdel Fattah has also staged a number of hunger strikes himself. One in 2022, as Egypt hosted the UN climate conference, led to international pressure for his release and an improvement in his conditions in jail.

He first rose to prominence during the 2011 uprising in Egypt that forced long-time President Hosni Mubarak to resign.

Since Sisi came to power in 2014 after leading the military’s overthrow of Mubarak’s democratically elected successor, he has spent most of the time in prison or police detention.

In May, UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention – a panel of independent human rights experts – found that Abdel Fattah was arbitrarily arrested for exercising his right to freedom of expression, was not given a fair trial, and continued to be detained for his political opinions.

According to the panel, the Egyptian government said he was afforded “all fair trial rights” and that his sentence would be completed in January 2027.