Egyptian authorities release activist Alaa Abdel Fattah

Egyptian authorities released political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah late on Monday, just hours after he and five others were granted a presidential pardon.

Alaa Abdel Fattah’s sisters, Sanaa and Mona, confirmed that he had been released, before activists took the first photo of him at home after spending years in prison.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi granted the pardon to Alaa Abdel Fattah, 43, who has been one of the most prominent figures in Egypt’s political movement since the January 2011 revolution. He had spent more than five years in prison.

Earlier this month, the National Council for Human Rights submitted a request to the presidency asking for Abdel Fattah and others to be pardoned, citing the difficult health and humanitarian conditions faced by their families. The council asked President Sisi to use his constitutional right to grant presidential pardons.

In response, President Sisi directed the relevant authorities to review the request.

Alaa Abdel Fattah was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to five years in prison for “spreading false news” after sharing a Facebook post about police violence. But he was not released after spending five years in prison.