CAIRO: Prominent Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah may be released through a presidential pardon, the president’s office said.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Tuesday ordered relevant authorities to look into an appeal recently petitioned by the National Council for Human Rights-Egypt calling for the release of Abd el-Fattah along with six other convicted individuals, his office said in a statement.
The British-Egyptian dual national has been imprisoned in Egypt since September 2019. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2021 for spreading false news.
“This is really promising, we hope these authorities follow through with urgency and that Alaa will be reunited with us soon,” his sister, Sanaa Souief, said Tuesday in a post on X.
The National Council for Human Rights submitted a humanitarian appeal to the president Monday urging him to consider releasing Abd el-Fattah and others on humanitarian and health grounds after receiving requests from their families.
