Today, human rights activists and advocates rejoiced upon the news that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi granted a presidential pardon to activist and political prisoner Alaa Abd el-Fattah.
The pardon came at the background of an appeal by the National Council for Human Rights. Abd el-Fattah had completed his five-year prison sentence last year and was removed from Egypt’s “terrorism” list last July after a hunger strike by Abd el-Fattah and his mother.
The pardon also included five other detainees, namely Saeed Magly al-Daw Eleiwa, Karam Abdel Sameea Ismail al-Saadany, Walaa Gamal Saad Mohamed, Mohamed Abdel Khaleq Abdel Aziz Abdel Latif, and Mansour Abdel Gaber Ali Abdel Razeq according to Egypt-based news platform Mada Masr.
Abd el-Fattah was imprisoned on multiple occasions and is considered to have played a central role in the January 25, 2011 revolution. His human rights work is widely appreciated by human rights advocates and organizers across the MENA region and around the world.
Numerous human rights organizations and advocacy platforms have been pressuring Egyptian authorities and calling for the release of Abd el-Fattah, citing the political nature of authorities’ crackdown on his activities.
Amnesty International covered his case extensively, highlighting the hospitalization of Abd el-Fattah’s mother, Laila Soueif, after an eight-month hunger strike that led to her losing 30 kilograms.
In 2024, Abd el-Fattah was given the 2024 PEN Writer of Courage award after being nominated by renowned writer and activist Arundhati Roy.
Among notable works is his book “You Have Not Yet Been Defeated”, which was released in 2021 and consists of a collection of writings between 2011 and 2021.
