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Alaa Abdel Fattah: British-Egyptian activist released from prison Alaa Abdel Fattah: British-Egyptian activist released from prison
(about 8 hours later)
Watch: Alaa Abdel Fattah reunited with family following release from prisonWatch: Alaa Abdel Fattah reunited with family following release from prison
British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has been freed and reunited with his family after almost six years of imprisonment in Egypt. British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has been freed and reunited with his family after spending the past six years in jail in Egypt.
One of the country's most prominent political prisoners, he was pardoned by President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi on Monday, reportedly after a request from the National Council for Human Rights. One of the country's most prominent political prisoners, he was pardoned by Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi on Monday.
Video of the blogger and pro-democracy activist, 43, at home after his release shows him grinning widely and jumping up and down as he celebrates with his sister and mother. Video of the blogger and pro-democracy activist, 43, at home following his release showed him grinning widely and jumping up and down as he celebrated with his mother Laila Soueif and sister Sanaa Seif.
Laila Soueif, who went on extensive hunger strike during her son's imprisonment, said on his release: "Despite our great joy, the biggest joy is when there are no [political] prisoners." His other sister, Mona Seif, told the BBC from the UK his release was a "moment of collective hope".
She said she hoped it would mark the beginning of the release of other political prisoners detained under Sisi's rule and the end of what she called a "very dark chapter".
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper welcomed the pardon, saying she was "grateful to President Sisi for this decision".
"We look forward to Alaa being able to return to the UK, to be reunited with his family," she added.
Abdel Fattah was released from Wadi al-Natrun prison late on Monday and celebrated reuniting with his family at his mother's apartment in Giza.Abdel Fattah was released from Wadi al-Natrun prison late on Monday and celebrated reuniting with his family at his mother's apartment in Giza.
"I cannot yet comprehend that this is real," his sister Sanaa Seif said. His mother, 68, who launched a 287-day hunger strike last September to protest against his imprisonment, told reporters: "I can't even describe what I feel."
The activist was arrested in 2019 during a crackdown on dissent and sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of "spreading false news" for sharing a post about a prisoner dying of torture. "We're happy, of course. But our greatest joy will come when there are no [political] prisoners in Egypt," she added.
Two weeks ago, Sisi ordered the 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 an interview with the BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday morning, his sister Mona said she was "impatiently waiting for the time to come and preparing to go to the airport to take the plane and go see Alaa".
His family said he should have been released in September 2024 but the two years he spent in pre-trial detention were not counted as time served by Egyptian authorities. "It has been the longest 12 years of this madness, and nightmare and heartache, and also journey full of love and ups and downs. And now Alaa is out, Alaa is free, Alaa is home."
When Abdel Fattah was not released at the end of his five-year sentence, his mother Laila Soueif started an extensive hunger strike to call for his release. Her brother first rose to prominence during the 2011 uprising in Egypt that forced long-time President Hosni Mubarak to resign.
She was hospitalised at St Thomas' Hospital in London and came close to death twice during the 287-day strike, which ended on 14 July after then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Parliament he "expected [Abdel Fattah] to be released" on 25 June. He has spent most of his time in prison since 2014, the year after Sisi led the military's overthrow of Egypt's first democratically elected president, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi, following anti-government protests.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had previously said he would secure Abdel Fattah's freedom and there has been widespread cross-parliamentary support for his release. While in power, Sisi has overseen what human rights groups say is an unprecedented crackdown on dissent that has led to the detention of tens of thousands of people.
It is unclear if Abdel Fattah will be able to travel to the UK to be with his son, though his sister said on his release that his release would "feel more real" when "his son arrives here from travelling". In 2015, a court sentenced Abdel Fattah to five years in prison for participating in an unauthorised protest.
The activist first rose to prominence during the 2011 uprising in Egypt that forced long-time President Hosni Mubarak to resign. In September 2019, only six months after he had been released on probation, he was arrested again and held in pre-trial detention for more than two years.
He has spent most of his time in prison since 2014, the year after Sisi led the military's overthrow of Egypt's first democratically elected president, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi. He was convicted in December 2021 of "spreading false news" for sharing a post about a prisoner dying of torture and handed another five-year sentence following a trial that human rights groups said was grossly unfair.
Sisi has overseen what human rights groups say is an unprecedented crackdown on dissent that has led to the detention of tens of thousands of people. Although Abdel Fattah acquired British citizenship in 2021, Egypt never allowed him a consular visit by British diplomats.
Although Abdel Fattah acquired British citizenship in 2021, Egypt has never allowed him a consular visit by British diplomats. In May, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention - a panel of independent human rights experts – found that Abdel Fattah had been arbitrarily arrested for exercising his right to freedom of expression, had not been given a fair trial and had remained in detention for his political opinions.
In May, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention - a panel of independent human rights experts – found that Abdel Fattah had been arbitrarily arrested for exercising his right to freedom of expression, had not been given a fair trial and had remained in detention for his political opinions. The Egyptian government said he had been afforded "all fair trial rights" and that his sentence would be completed in January 2027.
According to the panel, the Egyptian government said he had been afforded "all fair trial rights" and that his sentence would be completed in January 2027. But two weeks ago, Sisi unexpectedly ordered authorities to study a petition from Egypt's National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) 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".
It gave no details but Leila Soueif was twice admitted to hospital in London during her extensive hunger strike, which she ended in July after receiving assurances from the UK government that it was doing everything it could to secure her son's release.
Mona Seif praised the "enormous solidarity" with her family's campaign across the world, as well as the pressure applied by the UK government and British MPs. But she said she believed it was her mother's "terrible and terrifying, but also incredible" hunger strike that ultimately led to the presidential pardon.
She said she did not yet know whether her brother would be allowed to leave Egypt to be reunited with his 13-year-old son, Khaled, who lives in Brighton.
"[Alaa] missed all his childhood. He needs to be with Khaled as a teenager, to take Khaled to school, to take Khaled to the beach, to do all the things they have been robbed of the opportunity to do."
She also said her brother's release was "not just about a personal moment".
"I'm hoping it can be a moment of collective hope," she explained. "There might be a revision to the state of the thousands and thousands of people who are languishing in prison for years and are waiting for the same kind of happiness, to be reunited with their family," she added.
The NCHR said the pardon was "a step that underscores a growing commitment to reinforcing the principles of swift justice and upholding fundamental rights and freedoms", while Egyptian human rights lawyer Ahmed Ragheb said he hoped it would "pave the way for granting amnesty to those who have been sentenced in cases related to freedom of expression".