Egypt released activist Alaa Abdel Fattah from prison early on Tuesday after he was pardoned by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi the previous day, his family announced.
Mr Abdel Fattah, 43, was jailed several times over the past decade while campaigning for political reform in public and on social media. He has been in prison for more than six years this time around following his conviction in 2021 of spreading false news that earned him a five-year term.
A software developer and dual British citizen, Mr Abdel Fattah was one of the most prominent voices during Egypt’s 2011 uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down after nearly three decades in power.
Photos posted online by family members showed Mr Abdel Fattah and his mother, mathematics professor Laila Suief, smiling and hugging at the family home in Cairo after he left the Wadi El Natroun north-west of the Egyptian capital.
“Alaa is home, he called me from our neighbour's number while we were at the prison waiting,” his sister Sanaa Seif said on Facebook. “We're on our way back to him.”
Authorities this month said Mr El Sisi was considering a request by the state-funded National Council for Human Rights for Mr Abdel Fattah's release among a list of others. On Monday, the Egyptian leader pardoned Mr Abdel Fattah along with five others.
Mr Abdel Fattah had gone on hunger strike several times during his time in prison. His mother also went on hunger strike this year and needed hospital treatment in London more than once.
His mother and other members of his family tirelessly campaigned for his release, including through sit-ins outside the Downing Street office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper on Monday welcomed the news that Mr Abdel Fattah had received a presidential pardon.
“I'm grateful to President El Sisi for this decision. We look forward to Alaa being able to return to the UK, to be reunited with his family,” she said.
Mr Abdel Fattah, who obtained British citizenship through his mother in 2021, is a member of a highly politicised family.
Besides his mother who is a veteran rights campaigner, his late father Ahmed Seif, who died in 2014, was a rights lawyer and left-wing activist jailed under both Mubarak and his predecessor Anwar Sadat.
Mr Abdel Fattah was sentenced to five years in prison in 2015 for protesting without permission. Released on probation in 2019, he was detained again later that year.
“My conditions are but a drop in a dark sea of injustice,” he said in November 2019 in a statement to a prosecutor that was later published in selected works in 2021 under the title You Have Not Yet Been Defeated.
Mr Abdel Fattah began a seven-month hunger strike in April 2022, escalating his protest in November that year to coincide with the opening of the Cop27 climate summit in Egypt.
He ended his protest after collapsing, his family said at the time.
His lawyer, Khalid Ali, argued that his two years in pretrial detention should have been credited towards his latest sentence, making him eligible for release in 2024. But prosecutors rejected this argument, saying he should not be released until January 2027, according to Mr Ali.
It was this delay that prompted his mother to go on hunger strike in September 2024, only ending her protest in July 2025 after many appeals from her family and after losing more than 35 kilograms.
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
WISH
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Hales' batting career
Tests 11; Runs 573; 100s 0; 50s 5; Avg 27.38; Best 94
ODIs 58; Runs 1,957; 100s 5; 50s 11; Avg 36.24; Best 171
T20s 52; Runs 1,456; 100s 1; 50s 7; Avg 31.65; Best 116 not out
Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Results
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EElite%20men%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Amare%20Hailemichael%20Samson%20(ERI)%202%3A07%3A10%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Leornard%20Barsoton%20(KEN)%202%3A09%3A37%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Ilham%20Ozbilan%20(TUR)%202%3A10%3A16%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Gideon%20Chepkonga%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A17%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Isaac%20Timoi%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A34%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EElite%20women%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Brigid%20Kosgei%20(KEN)%202%3A19%3A15%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Hawi%20Feysa%20Gejia%20(ETH)%202%3A24%3A03%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Sintayehu%20Dessi%20(ETH)%202%3A25%3A36%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Aurelia%20Kiptui%20(KEN)%202%3A28%3A59%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Emily%20Kipchumba%20(KEN)%202%3A29%3A52%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES
September 30
South Africa v Australia
Argentina v New Zealand
October 7
South Africa v New Zealand
Argentina v Australia
Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The full list of 2020 Brit Award nominees (winners in bold):
British group
Coldplay
Foals
Bring me the Horizon
D-Block Europe
Bastille
British Female
Mabel
Freya Ridings
FKA Twigs
Charli xcx
Mahalia
British male
Harry Styles
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Michael Kiwanuka
Stormzy
Best new artist
Aitch
Lewis Capaldi
Dave
Mabel
Sam Fender
Best song
Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber - I Don’t Care
Mabel - Don’t Call Me Up
Calvin Harrison and Rag’n’Bone Man - Giant
Dave - Location
Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove
Lewis Capaldi - Someone you Loved
Tom Walker - Just You and I
Sam Smith and Normani - Dancing with a Stranger
Stormzy - Vossi Bop
International female
Ariana Grande
Billie Eilish
Camila Cabello
Lana Del Rey
Lizzo
International male
Bruce Springsteen
Burna Boy
Tyler, The Creator
Dermot Kennedy
Post Malone
Best album
Stormzy - Heavy is the Head
Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka
Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
Dave - Psychodrama
Harry Styles - Fine Line
Rising star
Celeste
Joy Crookes
beabadoobee
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
