Alaa Abd el-Fattah was today pardoned by Egypt’s president after serving close to six years in jail for sharing a Facebook post about police brutality in the country, reports Marco Marcelline

Alaa Abd el-Fattah, Credit: Free Alaa Campaign

The family of a writer and activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah have rejoiced after Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi pardoned him after almost six years in jail.

Abd el-Fattah was arrested in September 2019 and was sentenced in December 2021 to five years in prison for “spreading false news” and harming Egypt’s national interest.

He has already served a five-year jail sentence for sharing a Facebook post about a death in police custody but last year his family were told he would not be released until January 2027.

Today (22nd September) Abd el-Fattah lawyer, Khaled Ali, writing in Arabic on Facebook, posted: “God is the judge. The President of the Republic has issued a decree pardoning Alaa Abdel Fattah. Congratulations.”

Abd el-Fattah’s sister Sanaa reacted to the news on X: “President Sisi has pardoned my brother! Mum & I are heading to the prison now to inquire from where Alaa will be released and when… Omg I can’t believe we get our lives back!”

His sister Mona Seif, who lived in Walthamstow for several years, stated: “My heart is going to stop.”

The pardon comes as Abd el-Fattah’s mother Laila Seif was close to reaching a year of being on hunger strike. She started her protest on 30th September 2024 – the day after her son was supposed to be released from prison.

Speaking to the Echo in June, Abd-el Fattah’s sister Mona said their mother was close to death after having lost close to half of her body weight.

“She’s so frail. We’re at a point where the damage from the hunger strike may have become irreversible. She could go at any point.”

Mona, who lived in Walthamstow from 2022 until January this year, added that her brother had been put in enforced isolation and beaten by prison officers while in detention.

Chair of the foreign affairs select committee, the MP Emily Thornberry, said on X that she was “absolutely delighted” about Mr Fattah’s pardon.

She posted: “Laila, Mona, Sanaa and Alaa’s entire family’s tireless campaign for his release has been incredibly moving – their love for him was clear when I met Sanaa last year,

“I am so glad they will get to see him come home.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.