Egypt Pardons, Releases Activist Alaa Abd el‑Fattah

Alaa Abd el‑Fattah and five others were granted presidential pardons by Abdel Fattah al‑Sisi after a clemency petition from the National Council for Human Rights. Abd el‑Fattah, 43, was pardoned and released from Wadi al‑Natrun Prison and reunited with his mother and sisters after years of detention and repeated hunger strikes. He was arrested in 2019 and convicted in 2021 of “spreading false news,” and his name was removed from Egypt’s terrorism list earlier this year. Rights groups and sustained international — including UK — pressure, together with the NCHR petition, were cited as factors in securing the pardon. The British government and rights defenders praised the release, but Abd el‑Fattah’s travel remains constrained. Human rights organizations warned that thousands more remain imprisoned in Egypt, underscoring ongoing concerns about the crackdown on dissent.